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FEATURES 8 WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM Dean of Students plunges into lake for 2013 seniors AT LEAST 50 PERCENT OF SENIOR CLASS DONATED TO THE SENIOR GIFT CAMPAIGN BY LANE MARTIN Stah= Writer The sun hung high in the sky as students gathered around the familiar Guilford College Lake. Music blared. The crowd shuffled with excitement. Dean of Students Aaron Fetrow was about to jump in the lake. Fetrow challenged the senior class to reach 50 percent participation in the Senior Gift Campaign. In return, he promised to take this fateful swim. The seniors gathered their money and awaited their well earned spectacle. Dressed in a coat and tie, Fetrow appeared to the applause of onlookers. The crowd was substantial, easily boasting more than 50 students in attendance. "Helen Rice has been yelling at me until, well, about five minutes ago," said Fetrow, remaining unfazed by the task ahead of him. "'You've got your TDAP? You've got your shots?' I've got it all." Fetrow had been well informed about the dangers of the lake by Dana Professor of Biology Lynn Moseley. "She sent me a really darling email last night, two pages of problems I could t encounter," said Fetrow. * "They all ended in 'opod,' and I'm not sure what they meant, really. Some kind of fish in the Amazon that attaches itself to your body in ways you do not want to talk about. Snakes, alligators ... this kind of helpful advice. "The Dean of Students up in Boston University, who is also a lawyer and a colleague of mine, he jumped in the Charles River as a fundraiser. "(An alumna) said, 'Aaron, you have got to do this.' I said, 'Well, I don't have a river,' and she said, 'Yeah, but you have the lake." Senior Tobias Olsen, the master of ceremonies and senior gift manager, wore a fake muscle V y f shirt while goading the crowd, ^ keeping everyone's spirits high as Fetrow was directed to a rowboat and ferried to the center of the lake. "This was just a group effort," said Olsen. "I think people wanted to see Aaron go in, and we as a class saw this as a good thing." There were many factors that contributed to this fountain of charity, but the motivator for many seniors was clear. "I guess we were motivated by the prize at the end," said senior Puja Tolton. "I've been wanting someone to jump in that lake my whole four years here," said senior Olivia Shure. ■ • m nn The boat reached its destination, and all eyes were on Fetrow. There was a countdown. He spread his arms and with a majestic belly flop, he was in the lake. His pink inner tube floated in the wrong direction, forcing Fetrow to swim back to shore. "(During the countdown), I was just trying to get a grip on the stupidity of my actions," said Fetrow upon emerging from the lake. "Go seniors." With exams around the comer and graduation looming for our seniors, it is important to remember that college is not just about grades. Sometimes you just need to relax and take a swim. Guilford recognized in Princeton Review for being green BY LAURA HAY Staff Writer Going green at Guilford is getting our school recognized on the national stage. The Sustainability program was recognized in "Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges." The guide ranked schools based on things like a sustainable quality of life and environmental responsibility. Scoring was on a scale from 60 to 99 points, and all schools listed had scores of at least 83. Guilford came in at an impressive 91. "We like to think its part of the core values of the college," said Sustainability Program Director David Petree. Sustainability practices are happening all over campus. As we msh from class to class, chat with friends and worry about our lives after college, a farm grows food for us to eat, solar panels heat water and Sustainability participants conduct surveys. Many of the sustainability practices are ones we never even see. An example is composting excess food from the cafeteria. "We compost one-third of excess food and have diverted 8,000 pounds of food waste for compost this year," said Petree. Some of the food that turns into compost goes to the Guilford Farm. The small plot, quietly sitting across from the tennis courts and New Garden Friends School, grows food specifically for Guilford's cafeteria. "We have everything from asparagus to zucchini — A to Z," said Guilford Farm Manager Korey Erb. Most of the farm produce is given to the cafeteria, but excess gets sold to local restaurants like Elizabeth's Pizza in Quaker Village. "We have been able to grow the farm and do the work we need to do without being a financial burden," said Petree. Some sustainability projects engage people directly like the Green Office program and Eco Dorm energy audit. Both seek to encourage students, faculty and staff to reduce energy usage but had some challenges doing so. "I do not think students think about it much on a daily basis," said Eco Dorm worker and first-year Sophia Rivera- Silverstein in a phone interview. "They are thinking more about other things." They also felt that over-consumption occurs because it is an easy habit to get into. "Everybody thinks that 'I will do it just once,' and it is an exception," said Green Office worker and junior Ruby Brinkerhoff. "But, then you do it again next week." While sustainability is going strong, proponents want it to stay that way. Nevertheless, there are some obstacles to overcome. "I think (the challenge) is expanding the farms and continuing to make our program better," said Vice President for Administration John Vamell in a phone interview. Part of the effort to improve will include continued participation. Some noticed students were excited about the program but failed to participate. "This year is much better than last year," said farm worker Pauravi Shippen-How '11. "There is that gap between people who are interested and people who come out and help." They did, however, offer suggestions for overcoming that gap to improve participation. "You have to get out here once and take the initiative to get over that hump (and participate)," said first-year Lily Collins. Another key to improvement will be a greater understanding of sustainability. "Sustainability is not simply about being green," said Sustainability Engagement Consultant Bryce Bjornson in an email interview. "It is about recognizing that our current economic system uses the input of fossil fuels as if they were infinite and refining our systems to accept renewable resources." "Guilford's doing a pretty good job, but \ye can't rest on our laurels," said Brinkerhoff. "I really want to see more of it."
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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