Looking Forward to a Great Semester
Several big changes have occurred in my life over the past week. For the first time in nearly 11 months, I had the opportunity to attend a full week of in-person classes at the University of Rochester. For a time, I was concerned I would not get this opportunity. I have one semester left before graduation, but certainly didn’t want to graduate at home. Being back on campus was refreshing, albeit different when compared to years past, for reasons we all know far too well at this point. Regardless, I was happy to return for a variety of reasons – including the opportunity to write with Facilities Team Green.
This semester, Facilities Team Green has a lot of cool events planned! Wednesday, February 10th will feature our expression wall event. Students passing by the porch of Wilson Commons will have the opportunity to write a message on a banner regarding how they’re sustainable. Afterwards, the banner will be hung on the third floor of Wilson Commons, outside of Starbucks. The expression wall will be located here throughout the month of February.
However, there are events in store for later in the semester as well! Thursday, March 11th features a virtual documentary showing of The Pollinators. This film, as the title suggests, documents the contemporary challenges facing some of our most beloved pollinators – the honeybee. While perhaps unassuming, the honeybee plays a vital role in the production of fruits and vegetables throughout the United States. Whether you’re an entomologist or just want to learn more about bees, The Pollinators is the right movie for you!
This does not even consider some of our more semester-long events, such as Campus Race to Zero Waste (CR2ZW, formerly RecycleMania) or Earth Day celebrations. These events will ramp up later in the year, though stylistically different when compared to past iterations.
In all, the goal for this semester is to fight through and finish strong, whether it be in the context of the aforementioned events, graduation, remaining healthy, and more! While the University of Rochester might be my home for only one more semester, the pursuit of Meliora, or ever better, never stops.
Written by Dax Emerson, Class of 2021
Photo Credits: Jaeyoung Geoffrey King on Unsplash