The eighth annual Office of Sustainability basketball game hosted on Feb. 16 focused on the University’s carbon neutral history and sustainable future.
Prior to the game, students representing different sustainability and environmental groups set up tables to interact with the community. Clubs like Sunrise Movement AU, Wonk Trade, Kogod Sustainability Club, AU Outdoors, Engineers for a Sustainable World and American University Beekeeping were present for the game.
The student groups offered opportunities for crowd engagement such as a raffle or games where the community could learn more about sustainable living.
Harper Wolf, a sophomore who works in the Office of Sustainability, hosted a game in which students could learn about the different receptacle bins around campus. Wolf also explained AU’s involvement in the “Campus Race to Zero Waste” initiative.
Cassie Rodrique, a member of the Office of Sustainability EcoRep program, led a timed “landfill, compost or recycle?” game in which students had to identify where common products had to be discarded. Throughout the game, the jumbotrons highlighted AU’s footsteps to carbon neutrality and other campus enterprises in sustainability and environmental justice.
“I wanted to be a part of the game because I think it is important to spread awareness about sustainability at AU and give students opportunities to join environmental organizations if they are interested,” Rodrique said in an interview.
In addition to spreading awareness, she added her love for both passions: basketball and the planet.
“I play basketball and love to go to games, so mixing that with my passion for sustainability was the best time,” Rodrique said.
One screen debuted campus recycling programs, particularly for items such as batteries and ink cartridges. Another slide focused on the University’s rich history of arboretum certification.
Announcers engaged the crowd through games like a compost quiz, in which students guessed how much food was diverted from landfill to compost last fall. the answer was 13 tons, according to the jumbotron,
During one of the timeouts, students played “Bottle Bowling”: two teams had to knock over soda bottles turned bowling pins with a basketball, properly recycle each bottle and then shoot a layup.
Towards the end of the game, Tacy Lambiase, sustainability manager at the Office of Sustainability presented a bicycle to a raffle winner. Despite AU’s loss against Navy, the game was still seen as a community win for the environment.
