Greek houses choose to go green

For some of Penn's Greek houses, Earth Day is coming a little early this year.

Six fraternities and one sorority have joined the eight-week Greek House Recycling pilot program in an effort to reduce waste and promote environmental awareness in Penn's Greek houses.

Project leader Elise Morocco, a College sophomore and member of the Penn Environmental Group, will provide a recycling bin on each floor of participating Greek houses, labeled to discourage throwing away plastic and paper waste.

"It hasn't been easy for people to recycle," she said. "People are unclear about the right bins."

Morocco began the program as a proposition for her Environmental Science class last fall and chose to develop it into a campuswide program.

She and Beth Schnitman-Malm, associate director for Chapter House Administration and Finance in the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, have worked closely to make this plan a reality.

"It's definitely a group effort," said Morocco.

While similar Greek recycling programs have been started in past years, they've experienced limited success due to a lack of student interest.

According to Morocco, this program is broader and more systematic than previous programs. Both Schitman-Malm and Sarah Abroms, an '08 College alumna who started a similar program as an undergraduate, will advise the effort.

So far seven Greek chapters - Sigma Nu, Sigma Alpha Mu, Pi Kappa Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Zeta Beta Tau, Delta Phi and Chi Omega - have volunteered to join the program, which will launch the week after spring break.

Organizers hope to expand it to more chapters if the eight-week pilot program proves successful.

Panhellenic Council President Alissa Eisenberg, College junior and former Daily Pennsylvanian editor, attributed student interest in the program to increased environmental awareness on campus.

"We're looking forward to a lot of support," she said. "Green initiatives have been in students' minds for some time, and they want to be a part of the trend."

In addition to the bright-blue recycling bins, fraternity and sorority students will be provided with flyers and advice.

Chapter presidents have been asked to sign a "recycling oath," an informal commitment to long-term recycling efforts.

Wharton junior and Interfraternity Council president Shawn Woodhull said, "We've had a lot of support. I'd love to see it go to every chapter . this could make a major impact in environment at Penn."

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