Students flaunt environmental causes

Red and blue made green Friday as the Penn Environmental Group hosted GreenFest.

The annual festival is designed "to let Penn students and the community know that there's an active student interest in environmental sustainability," PEG director Jen Tintenfass said.

Scoring space on College Green for the event was key, PEG treasurer and social chairwoman Laura Boudreau said.

"It forces people who wouldn't come within a mile of environmentalists to see us," Boudreau said. "We get in their faces."

Several organizations were represented at GreenFest, including Penn Outdoors, Fox Leadership, FarmEcology, Democracy Matters, PennQuest and "Think Outside the Bottle," which ran a Tap Water Challenge - a blind taste-test showing a lack of difference exists between tap and bottled water.

College freshman Hannah Connor organized a drive to recycle ink cartridges at GreenFest.

"I believe this is a success," she said. "There's tons of energetic people spreading the word to make a greener Earth. It's important for the University, students and families to know that students here are behind these changes."

While snacking on locally grown apples from the FarmEcology stand, College freshman Kim Eislercommented on the urgency of the issues.

"Most people generally agree that the fact that summer ended last week is really scary," she said. "Events that raise awareness and move people to act are incredibly important."

Colege freshman Kris Abbate, winner of the tap-water challenge, distributed free food.

"I found the environment positive and informative, but I felt the GreenFest was underpublicized," Abbate said.

With more event promotion, Abbate said, "attendance and participation would have improved."

But GreenFest did provide awareness about upcoming PEG movements.

PEG distributed recycling bins at the event, kicking off an effort to spread green practices to students living in West Philadelphia.

Friday also marked the beginning of Family Weekend, and many students, such as Amy Woodrum, stopped by with their parents.

"I thought this, with all the different booths and issues represented, showed my parents how Penn students have depth and bring a dedication to the causes about which they care," Woodrum said.

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