YOUR
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PAGE 14-15
Planting seeds of
sustainability at
TU garden opening
SAMANTHA POWELL
Staff Writer
The gloves are going on and the shovels are ready to start dig¬
ging for the new Towson University Community Vegetable Garden.
After about a year of planning, the Community Vegetable
Garden has gained approval to start constructing the garden
behind the Administration Building. Friday's groundbreaking
ceremony will showcase the land and plans for what’s to come.
Zucchini, squash, tomatoes and corn are among the variety of
crops that will be grown in the 1,200 square foot garden, but grow¬
ing crops isn’t the only focus of the Community Vegetable Garden.
"We want it to be a place where people come to learn about
serving the community, learn about taking care of gardens, learn of
botany and biology," Garden co-founder, Jeff Bothe said.
All the food that is grown will be donated to the Assistance
Center of Towson Churches’ weekly dinner for homeless and needy
families in the Towson area.
The garden will be completely volunteer-based and open to
anyone in the community. Volunteers involved with maintain¬
ing the garden hope to create a place where students through¬
out Baltimore County can learn about cultivation as well as be
involved in community service projects.
"There won’t be any landscape services people. It won’t be their
job to water, prep the bed or anything," co-founder and graduate
assistant Liz Schatz said.
For Schatz, the Community Vegetable Garden can be a tangible
space to learn from and hopes students throughout the different
departments can utilize the space.
'We’re hoping the garden can be something that elementary
See VEGGIE, page 8
SGA creates
RACHAEL SANDERS
Assistant News Editor
Coinciding with Earth Week 2010, the Student
Government Association passed a resolution Tuesday to
form a Green Fund from a portion of student SGA fees.
The Green Fund would initially allocate around $30,000
in student SGA fees toward green initiatives on campus,
according to junior chemistry and biology major Elliot
Glotfelty, who proposed the resolution to the SGA.
Last Friday, the SGA approved a proposal to raise SGA
fees by $2 to a total of $80, but did not reference or define
any specific use for this additional money. With the Green
Fund resolution, the current SGA will recommend those $2
Green Fund
to go toward furthering green initiatives such as a bicycle
rental program and LED-lit parking garages.
Glotfelty was a member of the SGA last year and is cur¬
rently an executive member of the University Residence
Government. He said, however, that with this resolution,
he was coming to the SGA as an individual student with
an idea.
"One of my visions for Towson’s campus [is] to make it
one of the most green campuses in the [University System
of Maryland]," Glotfelty said. "I feel like the administra¬
tors are throwing around a lot of money, but they’re not
actually getting student opinions on it, and if we can
get student opinions on what money should be allocated
See FUND, page 11
Festival celebrates achievements
LAUREN SLAVIN
Arts Editor
The civic engagement department of
the division of Student Affairs wants to
reward students for their volunteer work
in communities surrounding Towson.
The events of Earth Week 2010
will culminate this Friday with the
Sustainability Music and Arts Festival,
which will take place at 4 p.m. on Newell
Field.
Local bands Lefthandout, Shook, and
The Evergreen Exchange will provide live
entertainment, and students can partici¬
pate in green activities such as preparing
smoothies in bicycle-generated blenders
and making their own recyclable paper.
"Students should be feeling pretty
good about the service work that they’ve
been doing," James David, graduate
assistant for civic engagement, said.
‘‘[The concert] is not only to celebrate
the work that they’ve done, but to get
more information about green initiatives
going on in the community."
The festival will provide a fun and
educational pre-Tigerfest event, accord¬
ing to David, who said the Division of
Student Affairs planned around the large
end-of-the-year concert. While live bands
play, students will have the opportunity
to visit the booths of local vendors, such
as Democracy Matters, to learn about
their initiatives and how to live a more
environmentally sustainable life.
"Our office wants to make sure students
are active participants in the environment
See MUSIC, page 17
