Oscar Ortega / Roundup
As the world prepares to celebrate the 39th annual Earth Day today, the Pierce College Associated Students Organization (ASO) and its environmental committee are hosting a week long of events to commemorate the annual event.
“This is the first time Pierce has participated as an environment committee,” said Jaslyn Pajounia, ASO environmental committee chairwoman. “I hope this is a new beginning for environmental growth.”
The celebrations began Monday at the Great Hall with a showing of environmental films and appetizers. At the same time, a group of volunteers from the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society (PTK) organized a clean-up party to go around the Pierce campus picking up trash and debris.
“One less trash that can end up in the storm drain, in the ocean, in the stomach of a bird or some kind of animal that may mistake it for food,” said Ryan Peretz, president of PTK.
Some of the volunteers felt it was personally rewarding contributing to the good cause.
“It’s a small contribution,” said Myrna Mora, a student with a major in criminal justice. “I know by removing a small piece of trash from the ground, I can make a difference. If we all do the same thing we can have a better planet.”
The environmental committee has an agenda for this week, which includes showing videos that focus on the environment and hearing from speakers who will talk about environmental concerns and solutions.
Tomorrow, a Sycamore tree is scheduled to be planted on campus at Swisher Park as a reminder of this week’s events.
“Hopefully, future environmental committee groups will plant a tree every year,” Pajounia said.
This event has been a joint contribution by Plant Facilities, Building LACCD, Special Services, the ASO and ASO senate. Earth Day has been celebrated since1970 and it has become a global celebration.
