UW-EC students clean up neighborhood as sign of respect for area residents
Armed with black trash bags and latex gloves, UW-Eau Claire students took to the Randall Park neighborhood streets on Sunday to pick up garbage for the 2018 Adopt-A-Block cleanup.
About 30 students representing their organizations volunteered at the event that concluded the university’s homecoming festivities. The cleanup was put on by the University Activities Commission, which is part of the university’s Student Senate.
Shannon Czaplinski, a senior and co-organizer of the cleanup, said the event has been held for several years, though she was unsure of when it started.
“This is our home, so we want to take care of our home,” Czaplinski said. “We want to respect our home. We want to have those good ties with the community members, especially those community members who live within the university area.”
Students were divided into groups of six and assigned a section of the Randall Park neighborhood to clear of glass, bottles, plastic cups, cans and other items.
Cleaning up sometimes required students to duck under bushes or trees to grab a piece of trash.
Though the event was not necessarily competitive, the group with the most trash collected won prizes at the end of the hourlong cleanup. The winning group was chosen based on the size and weight of the bags.
Julia Norfolk, a senior and co-organizer of the event, said the cleanup takes place after homecoming to respect the community and clean up any garbage left over from the parade and weekend celebrations.
Representing one group of Greek Life were seniors Taylor Johnson, Julia Johnson, Jenny Breese and Mary Ott, a sophomore. The group was tasked with cleaning up the Second Avenue block, spanning from Chippewa to Hudson streets.
Taylor Johnson said she thought the event was important for community and university relations because it shows students care, though sometimes it seems like they don’t. Julia Johnson shared these thoughts.
“The mass majority of students, I think, really care about the community as a whole and the campus and the area,” Julia Johnson said.
While the group picked up trash from yards, sidewalks and streets, a few students and community members emerged from their houses or stopped their cars to thank them for cleaning up the neighborhood.
Matt, 33, of Eau Claire, who declined to give his last name, was one of those who thanked the Greek Life group for picking up the trash in the neighborhood.
“It’s nice that the university has groups that are cleaning up the mess,” Matt said. “It was pretty low-key this year. There was a pretty nice police presence out there, and I didn’t see too much nonsense compared to years past.”
What they enjoyed about the event, Taylor Johnson said, was being able to give back to the community together. The group’s volunteers are members of different sororities, but chapters of Greek Life often collaborate and work together for different events.
“I think just being together and doing something is huge,” Taylor Johnson said. “Giving back together is always a huge part of Greek Life as it is.”
At the conclusion of the event, about 20 bags full of garbage were collected and disposed of.
Leaving garbage such as cups, glass, cans and bottles would be illegal if the City Council passes the revised public excessive intoxication ordinance on Tuesday.