Students discuss social pressure
By Autum Dierking
You recycle, reduce and reuse. You turn off the lights when you leave a room and you try not to waste paper. But do you do all of this because you want to or because you feel pressured? When asked about the social pressure to be "green," students had mixed responses.
"I think my roommates are sick of me talking about compost and turning off lights and taking shorter showers," junior Ingrid Hannan said.
Similarly, junior Danielle Bruno said she tends to "nag" her housemates about saving energy and recycling. "Although being a nag is an undesirable role I play," Bruno said, "it sure beats the knotting of my stomach when I let recycling and energy conservation issues pass me by without voicing my concern."
Other students can sympathize with Bruno's self-pressure to be green. Some, like junior Devon Goss, feel accountable if they don't do all that they can to help out in their daily lives.
"I feel guilty if I come home and find that I've left my cell phone charger plugged in all day," Goss said. "I mostly feel pressure from myself, as I know that I am contributing when I throw a can away or run the dishwasher."
Other students feel that education, more than social pressure, is the key to motivating others to be green. Several noted that increased awareness and the availability of information will provide the most effective and long-lasting inspiration.
Responses where once again mixed when students and staff were asked whether or not they feel increased pressure on-campus to follow those three R's.
Sean Smith, UP's recycling guru, said that the University doesn't try to pressure people to recycle. Instead, Smith said he tries to make people aware about the recycling program and simply asks that they help him out by making sure all recyclables make it to the appropriate containers.
"I don't want to be the recycling Nazi on campus," Smith said.
Senior Patty Cubanski said that there is pressure to be green on campus, but not everyone regularly experiences it. She said the pressure is more isolated to smaller groups of people who are more involved and aware of sustainable practices.
One of these groups, Focus the Nation, is gaining more attention and members lately with one of its most significant events, the Jan. 31 teach-in, so near on the horizon.
Junior Bethanie Peterson, who is a member of the Focus the Nation Facebook group, said that this is one step in the direction of making people more aware of what they can do to help. Otherwise, she said if she wasn't personally concerned, it would be easy to ignore others' efforts to spread environmental awareness on campus.
Whether or not the social pressure some people feel to be environmentally friendly will be effective in the long run remains to be seen. For some, education may play a more vital role in the future in cementing "green" practices. For others, shaming their housemates into turning off a bathroom light every once in awhile may be the easiest solution.
As for now, however, perhaps Hannan said it best: "In my opinion, we should all feel a little pressured to be green. We have been slacking off in that department for way too long!"
