news reporter
On the back of ASUO Sen. Christian Erichsen’s bedroom door is a yellow sticky note written in black pen that reads: “Remember to turn off lights and sort recycling every day.” 
“With a lot of things, I tend to take on a lot of different things at once, so I find that posting a note on my door is extremely helpful just because it’s like that old trick of tying a string around your finger,” Erichsen said. “You see it and then you remember, ‘Oh, I need to make sure I take care of that before I leave.’”
All across campus, nearly 200 University students like Erichsen are joining faculty members to participate in the University’s first ever week-long EcoChallenge, which officially kicked off Monday in celebration of Earth Day on April 22.
Steve Mital, University sustainability director, said the concept behind EcoChallenge is to get the University community more involved in conservation measures by applying solutions into their own lives.
“We have a lot of programs and policies to shrink our (carbon) footprint on this campus, but we wanted one that gave people an opportunity to participate directly,” Mital said. “This is a way to engage people and encourage them to try some kind of behavior change for a week to see what kind of results they get.”
Amanda Ellis, who chose to not purchase bottled drinks as a part of her goals, said she decided to participate in EcoChallenge because she was surprised at how small acts can make a collective difference.
“I feel that the goals presented on the website were easy to accomplish,” said Ellis, an undergraduate environmental science major. “It really opened my mind on how much of a change could be made, even when giving up so little. I have actually found my goals to be relatively easy. I save money by buying the materials to make the drinks I want instead of paying for bottled drinks.”
ASUO Environmental Advocate Nathan Howard said he decided to participate in EcoChallenge because he wanted to take a stand, send a message and make a difference. Among his goals, Howard made a commitment to eat meat only twice a week, visit a nearby farm and cook a dinner made only of food from local producers.
“I’m participating in EcoChallenge because the future of the United States will be decided by us, the people and specifically the youth,” Howard said. “It is our actions and our habits that ultimately craft and influence policy, and we desperately need a change in policy.”
However, some students said much more needs to be done. Instead of just concentrating their efforts over just one week, students said real changes arise by turning away from old habits and embracing the EcoChallenge goals as new habits.
“We’re never going to change the world or change any of our habits by doing them for only a week,” Erichsen said. “It’s a good start — we can build it up and then turn it into new habits. Anything can become a habit if you do it long enough. I had the same type of experience coming to college, in terms of homework and getting my calendar organized.”
In addition to creating good habits, Erichsen said there is a domino effect created by sustainable habits in which student action can directly bring about change.
“It’s a correct pattern of action on several different levels,” Erichsen said. “It’s all very, very easy things to do that, if enough people did them, it would add up and make a difference.”
Like Erichsen, others said they want to continue their efforts even after the EcoChallenge ends this weekend.
“I intend on practicing these changes in behavior and consciousness for the rest of my life,” Howard said. “I intend on being a catalyst for the necessary change in how we interact with the Earth’s finite resources.”
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