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The Equinox The student voice of Keene State College
VOL. 65, ISSUE #22
THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013
[ Keene-Equinox.com ]
Solar Fest blends music and ecology for a day SAM NORTON
A&E EDITOR Over the past nine years, the solar industry has averaged a growth rate of 40 percent per year and has a projected growth rate of 26 percent annually in the coming years. But this growth in the solar industry has impacted more than just the economy; rather, it has changed the way we view sustainability and the decisions we make towards achieving it. Yet it is not only the solar industry that is changing the way we view energy, but also Keene State College’s Campus Ecology. This organization shows that all it takes is a little bit of sunshine to make environmentally conscious decisions. On Saturday, April 27, the club put on this year’s Solar Festival on Oya Hill. Molly Alderman-Person, public relations for Campus Ecology, said that this year the club had a budget of $13,000 to put on the IHVWLYDO 7KLV \HDU·V HYHQW IHDWXUHG D WRWDO RI ÀYH KHDGOLQH EDQGV DQG eight “tweener” bands. In addition to the musicians who performed, local organizations and vendors also debuted their work at the festival. According to Donald Pearson of Strangers Helping Strangers, the organization, which has been around since 1995, will be donating all of the canned goods they receive from the event to the Keene Community Kitchen. Since 2009, Strangers Helping Strangers has been attending KSC’s Solar Festival, Pearson said. However, this year’s event was not only an opportunity to give back to the Keene community, but also a way to change how solar energy is viewed. Curtis Butler, of KSC’s SPDI club, said the club, which also helped organize Solar Fest with Campus Ecology, saw the event as a way to show how we can be sustainable—as a result, Butler was able to showcase a total of six hybrid cars on-campus during the festival. “There’s an image that people place on Solar Fest as being a ‘hippie fest’ when it really is much more than that,” Butler said, “I wanted Solar Fest to be a way to look at future technologies.”
» TO READ MORE ABOUT SOLAR FEST SEE A&E PAGE B1
Earth Week greens up KSC campus ANGELA SCIONTI
an array of stands set up by the Ecology Club of KSC. One particular stand run by freshmen Matt Bacon and Megan Markanthony During the entire week of April 21, Keene displayed a water taste test activity. State College held Earth Week, a collabora“The idea is to try one of each and then you tion of the celebration of Earth Day. Color- try and guess which is which,” Markanthony ful chalk designs and informational posters stated. adorned Appian Way, drawing attention to “We are trying to show that tap water and passersby and provided information about ÀOWHUHG ZDWHU DUH DFWXDOO\ EHWWHU WKDQ WKH conservation and “green ideas.” bottle water here; you can’t really taste the On Wednesday, April 24, the lawn outside difference. It shows how you should use recythe Young Student Center was decorated with clable bottles instead of plastic bottles,” Mar-
EQUINOX STAFF
EMILY FEDORKO / PHOTO EDITOR
Nine bands perform on campus during solar-powered music festival “Solar Fest” Saturday, April 27. The event was sponsored by Campus Ecology club.
kanthony stated. “Eco-Reps is a peer-to-peer education program that works primarily in residence halls to make students aware of how their actions impact the environment and the cost of running the school,” an Eco-Reps Raise Student Awareness article stated. Both Bacon and Markanthony are part of Eco-Reps, which Markanthony explained “promotes sustainability on campus and educates others.”
» EARTH WEEK, A3
Exploding bottles worry DC receives award for reduced food waste KPD and Campus Safety “That 1,500 pounds of waste food PAM BUMP
EQUINOX STAFF
KARINA BARRIGA ALBRING
NEWS EDITOR %ORRPLQJ ÁRZHUV DQG D SLHUFLQJ blue sky make it almost impossible to ignore that spring is here at Keene State College. However, although the spring fever proves to be healthy rather than harmful, a dangerous trend has started at the college: chemical bombs. Recently, 11 homemade chemical bombs were LGHQWLÀHG HLWKHU RQ FDPSXV RU LQ WKH surrounding areas of Keene State College, according to the Keene Police log. From the middle of March to the end of April, Keene Police Department and Campus Safety have reported six homemade bombs reported on campus DQG ÀYH IRXQG RII FDPSXV $FFRUGing to Amanda Warman, director of
Campus Safety at KSC, there are currently no registered injuries. According to KPD Lieutenant Christopher Stewart, the exploding bottles found are homemade bombs. “[The bombs are] generally made of household chemicals that can be purchased in local stores. These are shaken in a capped container. Because of the chemical reaction, the container shawls and explodes,” Steward explained Local authorities have expressed concern about public safety regarding to the exploding bottles. “Someone could get really hurt. If the device hasn’t gone off, the explosion could hurt them. Even if it [a bomb] has already exploded, there are dangerous chemicals that could cause harm if
equates $2,000 worth of food.”
--JOSEF QUIRINALE GENERAL MANAGER OF KSC DINING SERVICES
can raise awareness that that 1,500 pounds of food waste equates to well over $2,000 worth of food, then hopefully we’ll raise the consciousness and help students to realize that wasting that food is costing them money,” Quirinale explained. Despite the amount of food waste, KSC has collected a large amount for both donation and composting, which has lead to their award with the EPA. According to information provided by Quirinale, in 2013 the college donated 2,100 pounds of food, mainly through Sodexo, the food provider for KSC’s dining services. KSC also composted roughly 79,000 pounds of food waste. Although according to Quirinale, a majority of the waste collected for composting was “pre-plate waste” made up of stems, fruit peels and other material thrown out in the food preparation process, roughly
» EXPLODING BOTTLES, A3
Index >> Section A: Campus News....1-3 Opinions ............4-5 Student Life......6-10
The Keene State College Zorn Dining Commons was recently commended by the Environmental Protection Agency for its sustainability and food waste prevention. According to a press release from the college, KSC is noted by the United States Department of Environmental Protection for sigQLÀFDQWO\ UHGXFLQJ LWV ZDVWH ZLWK LQLWLDWLYHV VXFK DV WKH (3$·V ´)RRG Recovery Challenge.” The General Manager of KSC Dining Services, Josef Quirinale, VKDUHG WKDW WKH IRRG ZDVWH KDV EHHQ VLJQLÀFDQWO\ UHGXFHG E\ XVLQJ measures such as composting and creating initial awareness for those eating in the DC. The school’s dining services have also partnered with KSC’s Student Board of Directors and KSC R.O.C.K.S in order to prevent and recover food waste on campus sustainably. Quirinale explained the food waste concern, which KSC is conWLQXLQJ WR DGGUHVV LQ ÀQDQFLDO WHUPV “The average cost of a pound of food that we serve in the dining commons is $1.78. So every person that walks through the dining commons on average wastes four ounces of food. We serve 6,000 meals a day. That’s 1,500 pounds of food waste - every day. So if we
Section B: A&E..................1-4 Nation/World..5-6 Sports.............7-10
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- Having heart, taking part : A4 - Learning to heal, looking forward : A10 - Feeling a new kind of energy : B1 - Ruling the KSC Softball roost : B10
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» FOOD WASTE A3
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