'Posteracalypse'

About a week ago I found myself staring at a bulletin board in John Minahan Science Hall (JMS). The sad part about my situation is that I was not reading the board to find out about what is happening on campus. What I was doing was standing in complete shock. I had never before realized how many posters there were.Not only was I shocked at how many posters there were; I was dumbfounded as to why there were multiple posters for the same event on a single bulletin board. In addition to seeing the repeats, I noticed that just about all the posters were printed on extra large paper with more ink than I feel I have used in my whole life.

Although the irony regarding the posters was best witnessed in JMS, where students are learning about our world's fragile environment on a daily basis, my amazement continued as I ventured to other buildings on campus.

Everywhere from the campus center and academic buildings to the residence halls, I was surrounded by an exorbitant amount of paper taped, pinned and hung all over the buildings.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2009 Americans used, on average, 68 million tons of paper. To mirror that enormous number, the EPA estimates that approximately 30 million acres of forestland are lost every year. That is approximately the size of Pennsylvania.

It seems ridiculous that on a campus where sustainability is of such high importance, that the student and college organizations have not made a significant effort to cut back on paper usage.

Paper usage on campus does not have to come to a screeching halt; nonetheless, it seems pertinent to take a look at where we are using paper. When looking at a bulletin board, it should not be the case that a person can find up to five posters for the same event on a single board.

It is understandable as to why organizations on campus use posters for advertisement, however, the doubling and tripling of the same event on bulletin boards is a bit excessive. Since advertising is necessary on campus, it seems important to supply possible alternatives for getting the word out about events on campus.

While email, chalk and word of mouth are already used, it does not mean that those methods of advertising could not be strengthened. Another great idea would be to put the College's strange obsession with purchasing flat screen televisions to good use and create running slide shows of flashy and attractive advertisements.

If St. Norbert College staff and students added the consciousness of paper usage to its efforts for sustainability, we could help provide various environmental and even economic benefits.

Next time you are helping your campus organization advertise for an event, challenge yourself and your peers to be more aware of the amount of paper you are using. Remember that every little bit counts, and there is no reason that millions of acres of forest need to suffer just because we can't figure out a better way to advertise than by covering the campus in paper posters.