Recycled paper snowflakes lined the walls of Five & Dime Friday night, while Northwestern students enjoyed vegetarian food and live music with others interested in the environment during the Snowstainability Ball.
Several NU clubs, including Cats Who Compost, Campus Kitchen and Wild Roots, organized the annual event with around 60 students in attendance — advertised as a “zero-waste celebration” — to raise awareness about sustainability and foster an environmentally-conscious community.
“(We hoped to) bring together like-minded students that care about the earth, care about sustainability, care about the environment and want to meet people that also care about those same things,” Weinberg senior and Wild Roots co-President Olivia Schenker said.
Weinberg sophomore Veronika Tretina, an executive board member of Cats Who Compost, also emphasized the importance of creating zero-waste during the event by using entirely reusable or compostable dishes and recycled decorations.
This was an improvement compared to previous years because of the decision to use compostable cups, according to Tretina.
“The goal is always to be zero-waste,” Tretina said. “We succeeded with that last year, and we should succeed with that this year.”
Communication freshman Vivian Chou, a member of sustainNU and Plant Futures, said she decided to attend the Snowstainability Ball because she wanted to get to know members of other sustainability clubs.
Chou said she appreciated the commitment to creating no waste at the event.
“I really like the idea of a zero-waste formal,” Chou said. “I’m really happy to see the decorations today are all reusable, with the fairy light lighting that can be reused and the snowflakes that are made of recycled paper, which I think are really beautiful.”
Along with eating vegetarian foods like quesadillas, ginger salad and spicy peanut noodles, students spent the duration of the ball dancing to live music and crafting flowers out of pipe cleaners.
Attendees included students active in other environment-focused groups, including Weinberg junior and Fossil Free NU member Ruth Debono. Debono said the collaboration was beneficial because each club does different work to help the environment.
“I just thought it would be a good opportunity to meet other people with similar interests and values, and we can talk about the work that we’re all doing,” Debono said.
SESP sophomore Connor Boyle appreciated how this event allowed various sustainability groups to connect.
“Meeting new people, especially who are like-minded and have similar goals, is a great way of combating the climate crisis,” Boyle said. “I think we’re stronger together, and I think this is a great way to meet groups that can do some real good.”
Email: sahanaunni2028@u.northwestern.edu
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