A Greener Campus

by Travis Rocha

With such a passionate student body, it’s no surprise how quickly new, innovative ideas gain traction at Christopher Newport. Since I became a Captain in 2017, the university has made a lot of headway in putting an emphasis on sustainability and raising environmental awareness in our community. At larger schools, it’s easy to throw such ideas by the wayside, but because of how compact and accessible our campus is, sustainability is able to spread like wildfire.

Last semester, we introduced reusable to-go boxes in all of the dining halls and it seems like well over half the campus uses them now. As opposed to using compostable to-go boxes, as we had prior, now students have the option to reuse a plastic to-go box which can be brought back in and exchanged for a clean one, free of charge at every meal. This was an initiative suggested by Green Team, one of our many environmentally conscious clubs on campus. Others include the farmer’s market club, SPCA club, roots and shoots, and many more. As Captains, we’re very proud of how sustainability is built into the foundation of Christopher Newport itself with tons of stuff going on behind the scenes (more information can be found here). With so many vibrant groups on campus, everyone pools together to contribute new ideas to creating a greener campus, community and planet.

I’ve been a member of the SPCA club since I was a freshman, but every organization I’ve been a part of at Christopher Newport has played a role in sustainability in some way. My fraternity often hosts drives for unwanted school supplies and clothes which are then redistributed to the Newport News community. Instead of simply throwing things away, there’s a huge emphasis on either recycling or donating unwanted items. There’s never any shortage of philanthropic fundraisers or causes on our campus in the David Student Union breezeway which is packed everyday with organizations who are excited to engage the student body and create positive, impactful change.