Emily Carbone ’28
Features Editor
It is no surprise that Holy Cross, a school dedicated to the Jesuit Mission, puts a goal of sustainability at its core. Carbon emissions should reach net-zero by 2040, and sustainability practices are built into a number of facilities and buildings here. If you’ve ever wondered what you could do to advance the environmentally friendly goals of the school, then Purple Goes Green week is for you! The annual event, sponsored by SGA, offered several different programs throughout the week that informed students about what they can do to positively impact the environment.
Rain didn’t deter members of the Holy Cross community from an off-campus clean up last Sunday. Beginning at the Worcester House, the group picked up trash from the buildings surrounding Holy Cross. Special thanks to the Men’s Rowing team for participating in this event!
On Tuesday, Hogan housed three separate events. In the afternoon, a lobby table by the Office of Sustainability offered informational discussions and a giveaway. Community members who stopped by to hear about environmentalism could enter. Later in the evening, community members could paint a flower pot while watching “The Box Truck Film: Building a Reuseful Home,” which told the story of two builders who successfully converted a moving truck into both a mobile home and an education center. The builders were able to use nothing but repurposed materials, showcasing how sustainability can come into play in a multitude of different scenarios! Finally, students 21 and over concluded the night with an SGA pub night featuring environmental trivia, with prizes given to the winners.
One of the most unique events of Purple Goes Green week occurred on Wednesday, when the Office of Sustainability and Hospitality presented the Show the Waste Event at Kimball Dining Hall. Students were invited to place their uneaten leftovers in clear buckets on a scale to highlight the accumulation of food waste that occurs. After contributing their own leftovers, students could then guess how many pounds of food waste would accumulate by 2 p.m., and the student who guessed the closest earned a prize from the department. In addition, Campion House offered a guided Ecological Examen, followed by a casual discussion of the intersectionality of sustainability and faith. Finally, the 57th annual Howland Memorial Lecture was hosted Wednesday evening in the Hogan Ballroom. This year, former Secretary of State John Kerry offered a lecture on Geopolitics and Sustainability.
Thursday brought several new events, and one exciting expedition off-campus! From 10am-2pm, a Hogan lobby table offered baked goods in exchange for students detailing their personal sustainability plans and practices. A box truck with a tiny home inside was available for touring that afternoon in the Hoval. Made of nothing but repurposed dumpster material, this tiny home showcased an excellent example of sustainability to the Holy Cross community! Finally, students were able to sign up for Disc Golf in Newton Hill with the Outdoors club on Thursday evening.
Friday concluded Purple Goes Green week with Pies for the Planet, a Table Talk Fundraiser. Community members could pick up individual pies and donate to Catholic Climate Covenant, a religious organization focused on responding to the climate crisis in various ways. Students could stop by Campion House for their pies, and for a fruitful discussion about environmentalism and faith.
I hope you were able to catch one of this year’s Purple Goes Green week’s events, but if you didn’t, be sure to be on the lookout for more events related to environmental sustainability on campus soon!
Copy Edited by Lily Wasmund ’28
Featured image courtesy of the Purple Goes Green Instagram
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