Last week, Ohio State University’s campus was abuzz with a series of sustainability-centered events as part of Time 4 Change’s “Time 4 Change Week,” an annual student-led, week-long initiative, beginning on a Monday and ending on a Friday, during which various sustainable organizations orchestrated a diverse array of events, all with the goal of spreading awareness and promoting action about sustainability.

Last Friday, to end the week of festivities, the Ohio State’s Students for Sustainable Fashion (SFSF) and the Ohio State branch of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), a national organization whose mission is to build and mobilize the conservative environmental movement, joined to host an inaugural sustainable fashion show, the Green Fashion Show. 

The event, which was held in meeting rooms two and three of Ohio State’s Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC) from 7 to 9 p.m., promised an evening of style, substance and sustainability, featuring student designers and models. 

Molly Hoskin, a third-year in environment, economy, development and sustainability and the president of SFSF, said the heart of the fashion show consisted of four distinct collections themed around the elements earth, fire, air and water. 

“We wanted to dive a little bit deeper into the environmental aspect and look at a way to catch people’s attention,” Hoskin said. 

Hoskin said SFSF drew inspiration from Mother Earth to focus on the environmental aspect of sustainable fashion, highlighting the fact that sustainability is a mix of both environmental and social aspects. 

The goal of the event, Hoskin said, was to allow students from all majors to model, design and style looks, encouraging non-fashion majors to participate in the show too. 

“We wanted to let people have creative freedom to pick out clothes from their closets and create an outfit that represents them and the element of their selection,” Hoskin said. 

Sydney Endsley, a first year in environmental science and geology and one of the designers for this year’s show, said she decided to participate in this event because she wanted the opportunity to meet new people through SFSF and share her love for sustainable fashion with others.

“A lot of times fashion, especially sustainable fashion, can feel unattainable or hard to make look like a Pinterest board, Endsley said. “I wanted to curate outfits that I could wear on a regular day and could be found at Goodwill or similar second-hand stores.”

Endsley created looks for both a fire-themed and an earth-themed outfit in the show and said she was willing to design looks for any of the elements that still needed designers for the show as long as she was able to share the important message of sustainability with audiences. 

“My thought process was to make an outfit that someone would see and think ‘Oh, I could totally wear that, make that or find something that looks like that,” Endsley said. 

So the question is why should Ohio State host sustainable events like this? 

“Sustainability is kind of like a gateway,” Hoskin said. “Sustainability, and particularly fashion, is something that is really big right now and I think just starting off small and looking at just the clothes that you wear can lead people to purchasing and developing a more sustainable overall lifestyle.” 

But for many, Hoskin said, implementing these sustainable practices can seem overwhelming. 

“Sustainability scares a lot of people off because it can feel expensive and like a big lifestyle change,” Endsley said. “I think events like the Green Fashion Show and all the events in sustainability week in general can show a larger population of people that it doesn’t have to be drastic changes to make a difference.”

Both Hoskin and Endsley said that it is important to understand that a sustainable lifestyle can be achieved if others take small steps to educate and expose themselves to environmentally friendly alternatives. 

Although America is moving towards a more sustainable future, one aspect we are lacking in is walkable cities and towns. Urban sprawl in America has made it so even suburbs have five-lane city centers, and the annoyance of honking cars runs rampant. Our metropolitan areas may be able to be walked, but not because of a lack of cars. Pedestrians are pushed over to sidewalks and must run the risk of facing injury each time they cross the busy streets. In Europe, however, much of this lifestyle is switched, and the cities actually cater to pedestrians and cyclists.

It is no wonder European cities are considered more sustainable considering the immense benefits of walkable cities. For starters, the lack of vehicles causes a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, a walkable environment emits 4 tons less greenhouse gasses than an automobile-dependent suburb (CNU). There is also a significant drop in air pollution once those carbon emissions decline. Paris once had a “car-free day” in 2015 and the smog was cut by 40% in areas around the city (CNU). It also reduces noise pollution with less honking and ambient noise, making the cities more enjoyable for inhabitants.

Walkable cities even have benefits such as improving the microclimate of the area. Since less asphalt and more brick, stone, or concrete are being used, less sunlight is being absorbed. With these materials, up to 80% of sunlight is reflected instead, reducing temperatures in the city (CNU).

The water management also improves as cities become more pedestrian-friendly. The more permeable surfaces and green areas, the less stormwater runoff from roads (CNU). It also promotes time outside and exercise, increasing individual health benefits.

Pedestrian-only streets also increase the financial revenue of businesses. We see this in Copenhagen’s transition of its main street, Strøget, into a pedestrian-only area in 1962. The city then started to convert more and more streets to be walkable, making it one of the most sustainable and attractive cities in the world (Global Designs). The number of people taking part in outdoor activities in Copenhagen has increased by more than 3 times in less than 30 years because of these efforts, further proving the individual benefits (CNU).

It also financially benefits individuals. With cars costing the average American over $9,500 a year, using public transit or walking would save up to 13% of the average household’s expenditures (Climate Reality Project).

There are also social benefits worth considering. Walkable neighborhoods foster a sense of community, as people are more likely to interact with their neighbors while walking or cycling. This sense of connection can lead to stronger social ties, increased civic engagement, and a greater sense of belonging. Furthermore, walkable communities tend to be more inclusive, as they provide accessible transportation options for people of all ages and abilities, reducing reliance on cars and promoting equity in urban planning. By prioritizing walkability, cities can create more vibrant, livable spaces where everyone can thrive.

So, what is the most walkable city in the world? Although there is no one answer, cities such as Florence, Paris, and Copenhagen consistently rank highly. These cities are all beautiful, common tourist attractions and draw people in because of the ease at which you can explore.

With the environmental, individual, financial, social, and aesthetical advantages of walkable cities, I think it is time for America to start diverting from automobile-dependent urban sprawl and move towards pedestrian-centered areas. With climate change as a rising issue, decreasing pollution and carbon emissions should be something we are focusing on as a nation, and as a world. Transitioning to more walkable cities is a necessary step in that effort.

Once the trash leaves the Ohio State students’ hands, they will rarely think about it again. Whether they sort it into the correct bin or dump everything into one, where is our waste ending up? Recycling is a bit of a controversial sustainable practice, so let’s deep dive into whether OSU’s recycling is worth the extra few seconds it takes to separate our trash.

According to the Green Buckeyes Office of Student Life, our trash is collected by “a trash hauling company” that looks through to make sure there is minimal recycling contamination. If there is too much contamination, they simply throw the lot into the trash. Once it leaves the building, Recycling and Refuse Services collect the trash and it gets sent to the Franklin County landfill. The recycling is said to be taken to the Rumpke Material Recovery Facility (MRF) right here in Columbus. Once at the MRF, they are first-hand sorted to help reduce remaining contamination, and then “the materials are fed through machinery to help sort the materials.” This means plastic, glass, paper, and metals are separated and then go through the respective recycling processes for each. They are sold to manufacturers as raw materials to be made into different products.

After learning about the process, it seems relatively reliable and effective. I want to raise a few points, however. First, the university does not mention how many of the recycling loads end up in the trash because of too much contamination. Although they claim to focus on educating students when the contamination becomes too high, I have personally never heard of that actually happening. They also say that OSU has a goal to have a 90% diversion rate of material diverting from the landfill by 2025. However, they make no mention of how close they are to that number currently, making me wonder if that goal is feasible.

With those concerns being voiced, the Rumpke Material Recovery Facility seems to be a good company to be taking our recycling. For starters, they do in fact sort through the material and decide what can be recycled and what cannot be. They also have legitimate relationships with manufacturers to whom they send their separated goods and seem to have one for each type of recycled product. With that being said, 6000 tons of material are being taken by the landfill each day, whereas 800 tons are being taken by the recycling facility. To make it worse, 60 percent of what is sent to the landfill is recyclable (WYSO). This is of course no fault of the recycling facility but is an alarming number all the same. If the MRF went to the landfill to sort through and find what is recyclable, they would lose significant money, and since they are still a business, they cannot do that.

With all this information, I think that OSU is doing everything it can to try and have a zero-waste, recycling-friendly campus. They are paired with reputable facilities that put in valiant efforts to recycle and reuse everything possible. Although there could be more education and outreach with students, at the end of the day we as students need to be more accountable. As college-aged individuals, we should be able to take the extra time to separate our waste and know what is recycled and what is not. Overall, I think it is absolutely worth it to take the extra time to do so and take the steps to reach the 2025 goal.

The North Oval at The Ohio State University is a quintessential part of the OSU experience. Adorning every pamphlet, advertisement, post, and highlight, the oval is the epicenter of student life at OSU. In the warmer months, you can find a dozen tables of campus organizations selling things, recruiting, fundraising, or informing. There are students sprawled on the grass and filling the picnic tables trying to make studying a little more enjoyable. The crisscrossing pathways function as a hub for transportation to and from classes, meetings, and social gatherings. Scooters, bikes, and pedestrians are all trying to reach their destinations. Whether encountering a familiar face and pausing for a chat or manning a club booth, the oval fosters a sense of community and connections, truly embodying the heart of OSU.

In scientific terms, the EPA defines a watershed as “An area of land that drains water, sediment and dissolved materials to a common receiving body or outlet.” Watersheds play a vital role in environmental and ecosystem health, providing essential elements such as safe drinking water, fisheries, habitats, and resources for various flora and fauna. They are also pivotal for farmers and local economies, having been studied and preserved for centuries.

The connection between the scientific realm and the Ohio State community finds expression in the article “Watershed as a Common-Place” by Caroline Gottschalk Druschke. She explains the watershed as a community, stating, “Community is the naturalized endpoint of the watershed, achieved through the coupling of an experienced place with a common project and, subsequently, a common responsibility” (84). Metaphorically, the Ohio State oval serves as a symbolic watershed, epitomizing a community.

The oval mirrors a watershed in both its physical characteristics and communal function. First, the physical qualities resemble a literal watershed. The system of pathways acts as the channels of water, all converging and draining into the center. Just as the channels of water all originate from distinct locations but merge, the paths of the oval each have a different starting point, but eventually all meet. The paths also have a similar purpose of inducing a flow of motion, keeping things in flux yet separated until they are ready to run together.

Beyond the physical resemblance, the purpose of the oval also has similar success in acting as a community hub. A watershed brings people together and offers a commonality between different people and places. The oval does the same thing for its students, bringing together people from all different places and backgrounds. Just as Druschke asserts, the oval serves as an experienced place for OSU students, sharing a common project and responsibility—being college students together. The oval facilitates this responsibility of being college students by providing us with a place to recharge, expand our organizations, protest for causes we believe in, and is just a quicker route to the many different things we must get to. This can be seen within the first weeks of the fall semester, when the whole student body comes together to find common interests at the involvement fair, taking place on the oval. The endpoint of the oval is to create a community of OSU students, just as Druschke describes a watershed’s endpoint.

The oval at Ohio State offers its students a commonplace that enriches our academics, mental health, and community. It is a system of intersections that all lead to the heart of OSU and the people who utilize it. It acts as our own watershed, necessary to the OSU experience and must be preserved and appreciated.