Nobody wants to skimp on their daily shower time.
But for an entire month, on-campus residents will do just that and more as part of Housing and Residence Life's annual Sustain-A-Bowl.
Sustain-A-Bowl is a competition occurring in February, coordinated by the Office of Sustainability and residence halls.
The idea is to see which halls can reduce and reuse the most throughout the month. Sustain-A-Bowl teaches residents to conserve resources while promoting environmental awareness through competitive events.
The competition revolves around the basic ideas of decreasing energy, conserving water and increasing recycling.
There are three winners of the Sustain-A-Bowl, one for each of the three housing areas.
"The winner is based on reduction of water, electrical wastes and increased recycling rates," said Sustain-A-Bowl coordinator Jennifer Morse.
By participating in certain sponsored activities, residents have the opportunity to gain points toward their residence hall's overall score.
A variety of activities are planned for this year's Sustain-A-Bowl, such as photo competitions, bulletin board contests, movie nights, recycling sorts and candlelit dinners.
There are bonus events in which resident assistants have the opportunity to construct their own activities for their residents during the competition. Each planned activity is designed around themes which promote sustainability and conservation.
"Some halls have other small events unique to their residents, such as a centralized recycling take-out performed by RAs," said Mary Talbert, senior in nutrition and food science/dietetics, resident assistant for Boyd Hall in the Hill.
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