The third national Campus Sustainability Day was celebrated at MSU on Wednesday with a variety of events, including an information fair and a transportation study.
Volunteers for the transportation study either drove a car, walked or rode a bicycle starting from five different locations on campus, said Terry Link, director of the Office of Campus Sustainability.
The study was conducted to test how long it takes walkers, drivers and bikers to travel.
At least one walker, one bike rider and one driver left from such campus buildings as the Clinical Center, the Nisbet Building, the Communication Arts and Sciences Building and the Student Services Building, before arriving at the Administration Building.
"We operate under different concepts of getting from Point A to Point B on this campus in terms of time," Link said.
Although the official results of the study won't be available until later in the week, Link said different modes of transportation proved faster depending on the starting point.
But, he said, people might be surprised with how little the differences between the three modes turned out to be. It took about 12 minutes longer for the walker who started at the Clinical Center than those who drove or rode a bike, he said.
Julie Hartman, a sociology graduate student who drove during the project, said she hopes this program promotes alternatives to driving, such as walking and biking. She said parking on campus is "such a mess," and having fewer drivers could help this problem.
Associate Registrar Scott McMillan rode his bike from the Nisbet Building, and was the first person from his group to finish. He said he hopes this project makes people think about alternative modes of transportation.
"Anything will help," he said. "We have to be far less autocentric than we are."
Campus Sustainability Day also held an information fair in the International Center, which included groups such as the Office of Campus Sustainability, Eco, the MSU Student Organic Farm and the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
John Magee, an employee with University Housing, was working at the department's booth, which provided information on fair trade products, energy awareness and the university's new recycling program. The program now includes more bins for paper products such as newspapers, magazines and fliers.
"The university has expanded their recycling program and made it more convenient for students," he said.
Outside the International Center by Wells Hall, a group of volunteers were asking students to sign a petition urging the university to have a more complete recycling program.
Christina Burke, an animal science senior and Eco member, said the average student produces 206 pounds of recyclables every year. According to Eco, MSU is the last Big Ten university without a comprehensive recycling program. Most students were responsive to the petition, Burke said.
"They don't realize how much you waste," she said. "Everyone is really for it."
Link said Campus Sustainability Day is an event that can help people become more mindful and think of the individual impact everyone can have on the environment.
"I hope that someday we won't need a Campus Sustainability Day and it is just what we do naturally," Link said.
