Silver is the New Green
MyActions, the nationwide environmental think tank dedicated to improved sustainability in colleges behind programs like “RecycleMania” has awarded Yeshiva University the “Silver Student Actions Award,” a promotion from the “Green” standing that Yeshiva previously held. According to the website, this award indicates that the school “has student leaders committed to student and group activation across campus through focused challenges and delivering on impact targets.”
YU’s student representative is Yeshiva College senior Jonah Keyak. Along with his peers from colleges across America, Keyak has worked to create a social media website where students can post “green” actions they do in their college life, from turning off the lights and recycling to carpooling instead of driving. For every action, the school the student is affiliated with receives points; enough points and the school gets a higher MyActions status. With enough people participating, we can, in Jonah’s words “create a collective consciousness for sustainability.”
When The Commentator reached out to Jonah, he expressed thanks to his fellow Yeshiva students. “We [at MyActions] can sit there all day and discuss things, but it would all be for naught if there was no cooperation from my fellow students...This would not be possible without students signing up.” It is only through students signing up and posting their sustainable actions that the organization can cause change at the university.
What is important now, according to Jonah, is continuing the momentum. “In order to achieve a higher status, more students need to sign up and participate...I hope that YU will continue to be recognized for its student's sustainable actions.” A sustainable campus starts with small actions, so, ask yourself: what are going to do with this paper when you're finished reading it?
