Drue Sokol, Photo Editor
Last week, Grassroots held UR Unplugged — a seven-day long competition between hall councils and dorms to promote energy awareness and inspire students to decrease their energy consumption. Each hall council, which can include one or more dorms, was encouraged to compete, with the winner receiving a sum of money relative to the number of students represented under the hall council.
Sophomore Alice Chen, a Grassroots organizer, said that “the goal of the event is to not only make people aware of energy usage, but [also] to encourage people to reduce their energy use.”
The event was conducted differently this year than it has been previously. In the past, the event was called Sustain-A-Bowl and was a month-long competition between dorms. Events were scattered throughout the month, rather than one event held every day. Besides the concentration of events into a single week, the events themselvesdiffered this year as well, as did the way in which the winner was decided.
The week began by encouraging students to attend Meatless Monday at Douglass Dining Center, where energy reduction methods were discussed. Tuesday continued with Hirst Lounge turning off its lights for the entire day. On Wednesday, students were to be encouraged to make s’mores over envirologs — fake logs made out of reused materials that have low emissions. However, due to Hurricane Sandy, the event was postponed to Friday. On Thursday, professors got involved by reducing electricity use during class. Friday concluded the week with a celebration involving games such as potato sack races and tug of war.
The Theta Chi house won the competition. The Alpha Delta Phi house was recognized for the most outstanding decrease in energy by a single dorm building.
Konowitch is a member of the class of 2015.
