Shambhu Sharan

RecycleMania is an annual, friendly competition for colleges and university programs to promote waste reduction activities in a 10-week period, according to the competition’s Web site. Last year, 69.4 million pounds total were recycled out of 510 schools.

UTA collected 143,178 pounds of recyclable materials as of Thursday and ranked 204 out of 346 schools. The campus community has until Saturday to increase the number by dropping recyclable materials in the proper containers throughout campus.

On-campus residences competed in a inter-residence contest. The award is a trophy with the winning residence hall or apartment’s name that it will keep for the rest of the year, along with $350, university recycling coordinator Becky Valentich said.

Arlington Hall hosted a Recycling Olympics, a carnival night and presentation on how to live a more sustainable life, Arlington Hall residence assistant Jerome Kirby said.

“We will continue practicing recycling,” he said. “The 12 RAs will go door to door collecting recycle materials and recycle it.”

Tare said the university could do better.

“I am looking for more students’ involvement from residence halls and the Environmental Society so we can get a better rating next year,” she said.

Residence hall judging is April 12, Valentich said. She said the next step is looking at ways to promote the event and increase the numbers.

Information

Recycling and Composting Information
To learn more about recycling, contact Becky Valentich at becky@uta.edu or 817-272-0199

Faculty and staff learned the do’s and dont’s of going green in a recycling training program held Tuesday.

Becky Valentich, Environmental Health and Safety recycling coordinator, gave a one-hour Power Point presentation on recycling in the University Center San Saba Room. As an effort by the Office of Sustainability, the training program will continue into the summer and fall.

Valentich gave training on the process of recycling to support and promote the President’s Sustainability Committee. Valentich presented “Mavericks Go Green: Please Recycle, It Works When We All Pitch In!”

Valentich explained how, what and where students, faculty and staff can recycle on campus, lawns, cars, UTA residence halls and apartments.

Valentich said recycling means taking a product or material at the end of its useful life and turning it into usable raw materials to make another product. A typical family consumes 29 gallons of juice, 104 gallons of milk and 26 gallons of bottled water a year.

“2,000 pounds of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,0000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water,” Valentich said. “This represents a 64 percentage energy, 58 percent water and 60 pounds less of air pollution.”

When recycling on campus, people can throw paper in blue containers, aluminum cans and plastic bottles in gray hexagonal containers. The university’s recycling stream doesn’t include computer monitors, CPU units, mouses, keyboards and cords.

Valentich said people could save the environment by going green in the kitchen.

“When filling a kettle, fill with only the amount you will need,” Valentich said. “Filling a kettle to the brim will waste electricity. If you did this for one week it would save enough energy to light up a house for a day, or run your TV set every evening for a week.”

She said people can save gas by dumping the excess weight in their cars.

“Go through the trunk and see if there is anything you can leave out,” Valentich said. “You can probably dump up to 100 pounds of unnecessary stuff. This will increase your car mileage considerably over time and could save up to $10 a week on fuel costs.”

Loretta Jo Doty, Graduate Studies support specialist II, said she enjoyed the training session.

“I liked the trivia,” Doty said. “I learned one aluminum can can save enough energy to run a TV for three hours and five two liters bottles can produce a cotton shirt.”

Doty said people should be more conscious about throwing recyclable papers away because it saves trees and helps the environment, she said.

Valentich said a map of recycling bin locations on campus will be added soon to the Sustainability’s Web site.

Larry Harrison, Facilities Management associate director, said he is very aggressive with the recycling program. Last year, 535.55 tons of recycled materials were recycled, he said.

University’s groundskeeper Eli Quinon said the training was informative.

“I do see a lot of things that are not recycled,” Quinon said. “It takes a little extra time to recycle.”

Information

RecycleMania Fashion Show and Art Exhibit
When: 6 p.m. Monday
Where: Brazos House lawn

How: E-mail Brazos House resident assistant Kelsey Jackson at kelseymjackson@mavs.uta.edu

Models will walk down Brazos House’s front ramp wearing clothing made of old newspaper and paper towels.

After the final week of the nationwide RecycleMania contest, residence halls are promoting recycling through the second RecycleMania Fashion Show and Art Exhibit. Brazos House hosts the event at 6 p.m. Monday, where residence halls and university apartments will compete to show off outfits and art — all made of recycled materials.

“We are showcasing the creativity and talent of UTA students by hosting a fashion show and art exhibit composed of art pieces and handmade fashions made of recycled materials,” said Kelsey Jackson, Brazos House resident assistant. “Anyone can participate — residents, students, off-campus students, staff, anyone.”

New to the show this year is the art exhibit which Jackson said she introduced in order to welcome more students. She said not every student knows how to work with clothing, so art pieces are accepted too.

Jackson said she will give certificates and prizes to the first, second and third place winners, who are voted by the audience.

Jerome Kirby, Arlington Hall resident assistant, attended the show last year.

“It is a cool way to get residents to incorporate recycling into a fashion statement,” he said.

Caitlin Schwartz, Brazos House office assistant, said the fashion show shows that people can make things out of recyclable materials in a fun way. Last year, they made a whole outfit using materials like duct tape and paper, she said.

“I think it is a great way to learn about recycling and get students involved through the activities,” she said. “We won the last year and have a very good chance to win this year.”

Those who want to participate in the fashion show can sign up at the front desk of their respective residence hall offices or can e-mail Jackson at kelseymjackson@mavs.uta.edu.

Written by Shambhu Sharan, The Shorthorn staff   

Tuesday, 06 April 2010 10:22 PM

Material science graduate student Alex Huang stirs milk tea Tuesday during the International Week Food Fair on the University Center mall. Fifteen international organizations represented themselves at the annual fair and sold foods like Russian cookies, Laotian meatballs, and Hindu vegetarian burgers. (The Shorthorn: Rasy Ran)

As the wind carried the smell of spices and noodles over the University Center mall, students rushed to get a taste of cultural food at the International Week Food Fair.

For three hours, the fair attracted more than 1,000 students, faculty, staff and alumni from different cultures and backgrounds on Tuesday.

The fair, organized by the International Student Organization, had 15 multicultural organizations selling their food.

Journalism senior Brian Chen said he attended the fair for the fourth year and considers it his favorite I-Week event.

He ate Russian cabbage rolls, Filipino dessert and Indian mango lassi — a yogurt mixed with mango.

“It was so packed I couldn’t move,” Chen said. “I enjoyed meeting with all the different people from different backgrounds and cultures.”

Food options included Indian samosas, Chinese noodles, Laotian spring rolls, Japanese sushi and Napalese aaloo achar, mashed potatoes cooked with spices.

Students bought tickets for 25 cents each or could pay $5 for an entire meal.

ISO vice president Genaro Grajeda said 20,000 tickets were sold at the fair. The English Language Institute bought 200 tickets in advance, he said.

“We got much more people than we expected,” Grajeda said.

Chemistry assistant professor Subhrangsu Mandal said he liked the Sri Lankan and Thai food because it was prepared well.

The Filipino Student Association’s fact sign stands in front of their booth Tuesday during the International Week Food Fair on the University Center mall. (The Shorthorn: Rasy Ran)

“I saw many of my students eating and serving food,” Mandal said. “The students’ interaction was very nice. I like diverse culture.”

Chemistry research associate Mrinal Sengupta ate Bangladeshi and Nepalese food and said he thought the prices were reasonable.

“The fair was colorful,” Sengupta said. “It was like a mini bazaar.”

Alumna Irene Lazarus said she loved the experience at the fair.

“I like to learn everyone’s culture,” Lazarus said. “It was awesome like always.”

Jennifer Cortez, League of United Latin American Citizens president, said the fair brought diversity and culture to the university.

“I liked Indian veggie burgers,” Cortez said. “It was nice to see cultural diversity compact in one event.”

Prashant Dwivedi, Hindu Students Council vice president, said 25 people from the organization helped cook and serve vegetarian food. The members started preparing food the night before and finished right before the food fair began, he said.

Hao-Chiang Cheng, Taiwanese Student Association president, said 10 members of his organization cooked Taiwanese food for six hours straight.

“I’ve never seen so many people grouped together,” Cheng said. “I tasted some food from different countries and made some money for my organization.”

Journalism senior Rajan Koirala said the food was cheap.

“In a few dollars, I got lots of food with different tastes,” he said. “I hope ISO organizes it every semester instead of every year.”

Written by Shambhu Sharan, The Shorthorn staff   

Wednesday, 07 April 2010 10:55 PM

Interior design junior Stephen Norsworthy makes clothing Wednesday morning in the Architecture Building. Norsworthy is using burlap and paper shopping bags to design the outfit. (The Shorthorn: Stephanie Goddard)

One interior design professor said she wishes she and her students could develop and market a couture collection, but for now, she only has space in the School of Architecture Gallery to hone in on that dream.

Students in Interior Design II are designing clothing to showcase in the Interior Design Art Exhibit on April 16 at the School of Architecture Gallery. Students are using fabrics and recycled materials like paper bags, hemp string and cork to construct their creations.

This is the first time the program is designing clothing for an exhibit.

Rebecca Boles, Interior Design program director, teaches a class to address the practical aspects of interior design. For the clothing design project, Veronica Casado Hernandez, a visiting professor and costume designer from Spain, is helping Boles work with students to design garments for display.

The School of Architecture Dean’s Advisory Council will view the student’s designs at the exhibit and look for potential employees.

Interior design junior Jenny Prieto said the project expands her learning experience.

“It is very interesting to see our approach in fashion design as interior design students,” she said.

Prieto designed a dress made from a blue-dyed woolen blanket wrapping the left arm and down to the feet.

“The concept comes from a water drop which represents life,” she said. “The idea of the dress is to show water falling down throughout the center of the body. The rest of the dress is a rigid structure to hold the fabric that represents the water.”

The interior design course is dedicated to three projects. The current project will end with the design of a retail space based on the ideas present in their clothing designs.

Boles said students are accustomed to thinking about interior design strictly in architectural terms and so far, the class has produced some amazing results, both in quality and quantity of ideas.

“I chose a project that would offer me and the students an opportunity to learn from Veronica about the allied discipline of fashion design,” she said. “The exhibition of clothing is not an end in itself. The conceptual ideas behind the clothing will be the basis of their final interior design project for the semester.”

Boles said the course’s content helps develop student’s skills as interior designers.

Hernandez said she has experience working with people from other disciplines and that students are not familiar with designing the clothes.

“The class gives a fresh approach to the creation of garments,” she said. “The result is amazing because students are not trained in this field. They work with different interior design concepts.”

Interior design junior Magaly Torres said she is creating a garment symbolic of nature and aquatic animals.

“I will design a space with the same conceptual idea with which I designed the garment,” Torres said. “The garment will reflect those details by tucking, overlapping, and wrapping. I am currently experimenting with a combination of dark fabric, veil, crinkled paper and scored tape.”

Interior design junior Amanda Lee said she is designing a dress out of different papers and ribbon and will explore with materials.

“I played around with different ideas and experimented with different techniques,” she said. “It is interesting to go from a fashion point of view to interior spaces and architecture.”

Interior design junior Timothy Ballard is making a vest out of sheer plastic, coastal grass and aluminum eyelets. He said instead of using stuffing and cotton, he uses coastal grass as a reinterpretation of materials typically used in clothing.

Ballard said it is good for the students to take architectural theory and apply it to clothing.

“It broadens the understanding of architecture theory and construction,” he said. “This is another way to influence architecture.”

Written by Shambhu Sharan, The Shorthorn staff   

Thursday, 15 April 2010 10:21 PM

Nursing freshman Shelby Flores tries to dress a Barbie doll while wearing goggles that simulate the effects of alcohol at the Beer Goggle Bonanza on Thursday evening in the Rosedbod Theatre. (The Shorthorn: Stephanie Goddard)

The Rosebud Theatre was filled with reckless drivers Thursday night.

The Beer Goggle Bonanza, hosted by MavsACT, had more than 100 attendees participating in beer goggle Barbie dress-up, beer goggle bowling, a drunk driving simulation and a sobriety line. Participants wore goggles that allowed users to experience the effects of alcohol.

Nursing sophomore Denise Torres participated in the driving simulation. When she started piloting a remote-controlled car, while wearing the goggles, she said everything looked blurry. She said she couldn’t see straight.

“Don’t drink and drive because you don’t have sense of direction,” she said.

Nursing sophomore Jessica Blain tried to bowl while wearing beer goggles, the ball went far right, hitting no pins, but she said she saw everything in line.

“It shows you how you feel when you are drunk,” she said. “You think you are fine, but you are not.”

Business junior Miguel Lara attempted to walk a sobriety line with the goggles on but said his vision shifted.

“When I put the goggles on my vision shifted,” he said. “I felt like off balance when I started walking. I felt like I was going the wrong way.”

By drinking alcohol, people’s vision is impaired but also the rest of the senses are affected, if you drink too much it’s especially bad when you drive, Lara said.

Glasses containing wrecked toy cars sit on a table at the Beer Goggle Bonanza on Thursday evening in the Rosebud Theatre. (The Shorthorn: Stephanie Goddard)

Advertising senior Louisa Richardson said the event was educational.

“I basically learned not to drink and drive,” she said. “Drinking can mess with your senses.”

Communication sophomore Becca Ashman said the event was informative.

“Drinking and driving is never good,” she said. “My dad was killed by drink driver when I was 8 years old. I don’t hang out with people who drink and drive.”

Donielle Smith, Health Promotion and Substance Abuse coordinator, gave information about the affect of alcohol and drugs.

“It is very important for students to know how substance abuse affect their lives and campus community,” Smith said.

Another activity was the drunk Barbie game. Participants tried to put clothing on the doll while wearing beer goggles. UTA police officer Courtney Freeman said she loved the event.

“Most students don’t know what happen when they are drunk,” she said.

Biology graduate student Shweta Panchal decides which herbs she wants to take at UTA Earth Day in Spring 2009 on the University Center Mall. (The Shorthorn: File Photo)

The Sustainability Office on Wednesday will bring awareness about the earth and environment by hosting the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and UTA’s 10th anniversary at the University Center mall.

The event will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Earth Day is designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. It was founded by late U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and now is celebrated in many countries every year.

“It’s a chance for us all to become involved in saving our planet and making sure future generations have a human-friendly sustainable environment,” said Sustainability director Meghna Tare. “It is important to raise awareness about environmental issues like recycling, climate change and energy conservation.”

Tare said over the last ten years, the university has been increasing the number of people and vendors participating in the event and showcasing their environmentally-friendly products.

UTA is celebrating by offering compostable lunch, which consists of baked potato, fruits and drink for $1. Herb plants and environmentally friendly water bottles are free while they last. People can buy an Earth Day T-shirt for $10, and visit with vendors to learn how to help the environment.

Earth Day Celebration

What: “Celebrating People and Planet” Earth Day
Where: University Center mall
When: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday

Christopher Seale, an environmental science graduate student, said he will be selling T-Shirts on Earth Day for “Celebrating People and Planet,” the theme of the UTA Earth Day event.

“This event is important to spread the word about Earth Day, sustainability and the various UTA environmental programs,” Seale said. “It is also a way to raise some money for the Office of Sustainability. I feel great about volunteering. Even though it is for a class requirement, it is something that I have wanted to do for quite some time.”

Becky Valentich, the university recycling coordinator, said the event would bring awareness about the earth and how people’s actions are affecting the earth and its resources.

She said 36 groups including the Trinity River Authority, Heifer International, Waste Management and Arlington Conservation Council have information tables confirmed.

Catherine Goyne, Maverick Print And Mail Services accounting technician, said she has been volunteering for Earth Day for the last eight years and will be serving foods along with 10 other staff from her department.

“It is good to get outside and get fresh air,” Goyne said. “It is always fun to see different things that can be recycled in different ways.”

Greg Hladik, Apartment and Residence Life Student Director shouts the winner of Recyclemania on Tuesday evening in the University Center mall. Lipscomb hall won the competition and recieved a trophy and 350 dollars. (The Shorthorn: Aisha Butt)

When Lipscomb Hall was announced as this year’s in-house RecycleMania winner, the crowd cheered “Lipscomb, Lipscomb, Libscomb.”

Lipscomb Hall resident assistants Alba Lara and Shauna Davis accepted the trophy, made of recyclable granite stone, Tuesday night at the Residence Hall Association’s Block Party 2010. The hall also received $350, which will be used to buy equipment for the community.

“I feel super awesome after receiving the award,” Davis said.

Lara said the Lipscomb Hall residents helped make a video to promote RecycleMania. She said she made a book, crafts, a decorated bag and photo album from recyclable materials.

“I am proud of my residents,” she said.

Members of the President’s Sustainability Committee and the Apartment and Residence Life staff judged the binders each hall made. The binders showcased what the halls did to promote sustainability.

Brazos House placed second and Arlington Hall third in the competition.

“I learned a lot about recycling through the program,” Brazos House RA Kelsey Jackson said.

Kinesiology sophomore Robert Clemons said Lipscomb is number one.

“We are the best in everything,” he said. “I feel privileged and honored to live with Lara and Davis.”

Arlington Hall RA Victoria Ehiogu said she is happy with the results.

UTA’s RecycleMania winners

First place – Libscomb Hall
Second place – Brazos House
Third place – Arlington Hall

“We put in a lot of time and effort,” she said. “For the next year, I will promote better and hopefully win first place.”

Residence Life director Mari Duncan said six judges chose the RecycleMania winner anonymously.

“I was proud of all the effort they put into the binders and I was very pleased with the variety of programs and educational opportunities they provided during the 10 weeks of RecycleMania,” she said.

The committee judged residence halls based on the level of promotion they did for RecycleMania and events held during the 10-week period that educated residents about sustainability issues.

Sustainability director Meghna Tare said the residence halls and apartments did good in the RecycleMania competition.

“Everybody did an exceptional job,” she said. “The winner had a focused approach.

She said the results were good, but can be improved next year by reaching a larger audience and creating more awareness.

“It is very effective to encourage students to recycle,” she said. “It combines fun with learning. I want to see and more involvement from students in recycling.”