Student Spotlight: Elsa Mark-Ng

Post date: Nov 17, 2016 6:47:12 PM

What prompted you to certify/ Why did you think it was important to certify your room?

I wanted to show that I care about the everyday actions that can impact the environment. Even though some people say that small individual actions that the green room programs seeks to promote will not have an impact on the environment, I think that these actions are just the beginning of larger actions. To create a positive impact on the environment, we have to be made uncomfortable and use our privilege to counteract what we take for granted. Taking small actions in everyday life is slightly uncomfortable and out of the norm, but I think it’s really important, and I wanted to show people that I care about the environment and they should too.

Do you feel that this program is a good way to increase campus-wide sustainability?

Yes, I do. I think that seeing the signs on other people’s doors increases interest in the program, but people at Oberlin are so lazy and unmotivated sometimes that they don’t go through the effort to get green room certified. I don’t know if the program is publicized enough or is easily accessible, so that might need to be worked on in order to get more people involved.

What is your relationship with nature at Oberlin?

I appreciate how spread out the campus is because it allows for more green spaces between buildings. I’m from a city where there is considerably less green space, but since there is so much space in rural Ohio, Oberlin is able to really incorporate nature through the campus. Although I don’t get the opportunities to hike or see “wild” nature as much as I do back home, I try to keep that connection to the natural world through my appreciation of the campus’s beauty. A lot of my art relates to nature and the environment, which allows me to keep that connection mentally and emotionally, if not physically.

Has being in a co-op reinforced your sustainable mindset and the ability to work together in a group?

Being in a co-op and seeing the other side of commercial cooking made me see how wasteful the food industry is, although I know that co-ops are better about sustainability than many other commercial food venues. It pains me to see how much food can get thrown out after a meal and how much water is used to rinse vegetables and wash dishes. Seeing this has made me feel even more strongly about how sustainability should be approached, both by individuals and larger groups.

Has sustainability always been a major part of your life? What was your hometown community like?

I grew up in Cambridge, MA, which is a very liberal city. At home and in school, it was always a given to take care of the environment. The environmental club that I was a part of in high school was accessible and did a good job conveying their message to the whole high school, and we talked about the environment in many of my classes. Cambridge has a strong citywide recycling program and a new composting program, which are highly publicized and which people are strongly encouraged to take part in. I was very lucky to be able to grow up in Cambridge and take environmental consciousness as a given. I think that people at home are more conscious of the environment and being sustainable than people are at Oberlin. It was a part of everyday life, and the environment was talked about by probably everyone I knew, but here it seems like it is really easy for people to just ignore their impact on the environment and focus on other issues, which disheartens me because Oberlin’s reputation is being an environmentally conscious campus, and if our whole campus isn’t interested in the environment, then what does that say about other college campuses and the rest of the world?

Do you think this program could be a starting ground for when you own your own home or apartment out of college?

I don’t think the program is specifically a starting ground for me because I’ve been practicing these actions for virtually my whole life. The program is a good way to remind people some easy ways for them to practice sustainability, and I will definitely keep that in mind when I leave Oberlin.

What would your perfect sustainable campus look like?

My perfect sustainable campus would be if everyone knew the extent of their impact on the environment and cared enough to change their ways and talk about it in normal conversation. I would love it if the campus was green enough so that being environmentally sustainable could be taken for granted. I think that there are some classes that should be required to ensure that students are responsible global citizens, and one of those classes should be ENVS 101 so that students can gain a basic level of understanding of the environment. I wish that the environmental studies program could be expanded so that more students are able to take classes in the department.

Name three sustainable activities that you love to participate in here at Oberlin: (ie bike rides with friends, ecolympics, making bottle bots etc)

Biking! Beekeeping! Pottery (reusing clay)!

What is your biggest sustainability pet peeve?

When people leave the water running when they’re not using it! When people leave the lights on all day on purpose because they’re too lazy to turn them off! When people don’t recycle clean paper or plastic! I have lots of pet peeves.