GREENOUT, a music festival sponsored by the Associated Student Government Sustainability Committee, is set to kick off with a slate of student performers Saturday on Deering Meadow.

The festival, scheduled from 2-6 p.m., is the final event in a week-long ASG series celebrating Earth Day. The committee said they planned the week to engage students with sustainability measures and promote environmentalism on campus. 

GREENOUT will feature performances from student musicians DJ Lu, Muse etc., Tavern, Cataract and Vitamin K.

Attendees can also partake in a thrift exchange. Representatives from sustainable student organizations like Cats Who Compost and Sustainable Evanston plan to set up booths on the lawn, so attendees can learn about environmentalism.

Sustainability Committee co-Chair and Weinberg sophomore Alexis Schwartz said she hopes GREENOUT motivates the student body to be more conscious about their environmental footprint.

“It’s something our generation really cares about as a whole,” Schwartz said. “But I think sometimes everyone just needs the extra push.”

Communication junior Kay Cui — more commonly known on campus as the DJ Vitamin K — said she looks forward to creating a positive atmosphere where students can enjoy music and learn about sustainability.

“Being asked to take part in an event that is raising awareness and trying to build support for a cause is really important to me,” Cui said. 

Weinberg freshman Gabriela Holguin, a Sustainability Committee member, said the festival should serve as a call to action for the student body. 

Holguin said she has seen increased activity on the Lakefill during Spring Quarter, which has led to an accumulation of trash.

“It truly is upsetting to see us trash these beaches, whether that’s North Beach or the beach down on South Campus,” Holguin said. “Especially on South Campus, since it is not necessarily our beach, but it’s a beach that we share with our community.”

Schwartz said the festival aims to showcase the Sustainability Committee’s accomplishments over the past academic year. 

She said the Committee has been working on bird safety measures, making Ryan Field zero waste, installing energy-saving outlets in campus buildings and increasing vegetarian and vegan options in the dining halls.

These projects, according to Holguin, aim to help the environment and wildlife recover from the damage humans have inflicted upon them.  

“We’re just trying to ensure that Earth is a place that we, along with the rest of the species, are a part of,” Holguin said. 

Now, Schwartz said she wants to celebrate the time and energy that Committee members have devoted to developing and implementing sustainability measures.

She said she hopes the week’s events will spark campus-wide engagement with sustainability measures and environmentalism moving forward. 

“We also really wanted to use it to highlight the work that students are already doing,” Schwartz said. “Other students (may) not know how to get involved and how to do more.”

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Twitter: @JulianAndreone

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