By ZOHAL AFZAL
The Tower
Trash is scattered around campus daily, and it may seem easy to overlook.
An empty wrapper on the ground or an empty juice box may seem unimportant, but small acts of littering can make our campus seem ugly.
Over time, this trash can build up and affect the appearance of school.
Keeping the campus clean is something we all could do.
A new club called “Eco Club” hopes to change the student’s perspectives about the environment. The club was founded by Jacey Uganiza and Ariana Angel both of whom hope to raise awareness about the environment and encourage students to take action.
Through the club, students can learn more about the environmental problems on school campus.
“It’s a big issue that is coming up a lot,” Angel said.
She also explained how littering is seen everywhere she goes, which makes it difficult for her to ignore. Together their observations show a real problem that the club hopes students will take seriously.
For Uganiza, littering is an issue that students can see in their everyday surroundings.
She explained that the campus is less pretty with the trash everywhere and the force of wind can blow trash around school grounds. This can make the campus look even messier and spread litter to other areas.
It shows how one piece of trash can cause bigger problems.
Although many people might see environmental issues, awareness does not always lead to action. Uganiza was inspired to start the Eco Club because the school didn’t have a club like it. She wanted students who cared about the environment to have the opportunity to make a difference.
For Angel, she felt that many people were not educated about environmental issues, which helped her create a space for students to learn more and be involved. Together, their observation shows a real problem.
They hope that this issue gets fixed through Eco Club.
Angel also believes in the broader issue of climate change, which includes AI data centers. Her view on it reflects how local environmental concerns can connect to larger topics.
Vice President Leilany Aranda Guerrero says, “I became more aware of how much trash is around campus”.
Guerrero joined because of her awareness of littering. However, her interest in the environment comes from her passion for it. She cares about animals and wants to help the environment because she sees it as something worth protecting.
With the same concern, they are all working toward the same goal. They want to give students the chance to take action. One way the club hopes to make a difference is by encouraging students instead of pointing it out.
However, starting a club comes with difficulties.
Both co-presidents, Angel and Uganiza, agreed about the school restricting certain events.
“An issue we might face is restriction from school in general,” Uganiza said.
Guerrero believes that people would be interested but wouldn’t go through with it. Achieving that everybody goes through with volunteering is important for the club.
The students also understand that improving the campus requires more than just organizing activities. The co-president said that student’s behaviors can be challenging since the club wants to change habits.
The club’s goal extends beyond making the campus look better. Jacey Uganiza hopes to make students more aware of environmental issues.
For the Eco Club, the goal is to create a campus where students can do something instead of just looking at trash.