This is Emily Rotthaler, reporting for KECR.
1. Recycling:
Morningside College still needs to improve its environmental efforts to reach the sustainability goal it has set itself. John Helms, chair of the sustainability committee: QUOTE Of the institutions that I’m most familiar with, I’d say we are probably not in the top half in terms of sustainability. At thi spoint it’s still a goal we are working towards.This realization comes with the 16-year anniversary of the Sustainability Committee.
Especially in regard to recycling, more should and could be done. After several setbacks like having to switch vendors, the Committee is struggling with the reorganization of the basic recycling process. Additionally, the students still don’t show enough environmental awareness to fully be on board with recycling. Freshman Taylar Johnson, “I think that the people that are aware are just too lazy to use recycling bins. If there is a garbage can right there they are going to throw it into the garbage bin instead of the recycling bin.”
The way for Morningside College to reach its sustainability goal is for students to work together as an organized group. Helms further said, “The administration wants to hear about it from students. They want to know that students have this as a value before they really go all in.”
2. Science Story International Space Station
2020 marks the twentieth anniversary of humans continuously occupying the International Space Station ISS.
Starting with two Russian and one American astronaut in 2000 there has always been someone living and working at the station in low-Earth orbit. According to the National Geographic, this means that for the past twenty years there has not been one moment that every single human being was on earth.
QUOTE student: thoughts about 20 years of humans at ISS
Over the two decades, 241 women and men have called the 150 billion $ station their home. Several astronauts have spent more than a year on the ISS. Over a 100 thousand people contributed to its design and construction. The space station is a joint project of 15 countries and was started by the US in 1984 as “Space Station Freedom”.
3. Mental struggle of students during election
The 2020 presidential elections this week have taken an additional toll on the mental health of students who have already been struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
While millions of votes were still counted on Wednesday and Thursday, university students had to concentrate on their school work. Many students said that between classes and exams there was barely enough time to vote. According to Vox, this led to high levels of anxiety for students, who in 2020 already have had to go through major difficulties because of the pandemic.
Like other citizens, these students feel anxious and distracted by the presidential election and how, depending on the result, the whole country’s future could dramatically change. In this time, many students wish for more understanding and concern about their well-being by their educational institutions.
QUOTE student: perception of the election night and following days