Campaign helps freshmen ‘go green’

A hidden force is lurking beneath the food stands at Schenley Plaza, at the construction site… A hidden force is lurking beneath the food stands at Schenley Plaza, at the construction site for the new Boulevard of the Allies Bridge and inside the bright green bags which freshmen carry on Forbes Avenue: the Oakland Task Force.’ Students at Pitt might not know it, but the Oakland Task Force, a coalition of Oakland businesses, institutions and community groups, is responsible for many of the daily and yearly changes that they see happening around Oakland.’ The task force officially calls itself ‘a forum for Oakland community and neighborhood organizations, governmental entities, institutions and public agencies ‘hellip; for the resolution of issues that serve to improve the quality of life in the Oakland community’ on its Web site. G. Renny Clark, chairman of the task force and a Pitt vice chancellor, said it more succinctly: ‘We are a community catalyst.’ Regardless of what people call the task force, the more than 25 institutions that comprise it have a lasting impact on the direction of Pittsburgh’s most vibrant neighborhood.’ The task force’s most recent and visible initiative, the Go Green Campaign, is making local college students more responsible for the health of their part-time communities.’ In the first official step of the campaign, the task force, in partnership with the Oakland Business Improvement District, issued bright green eco-friendly bags to every incoming freshman at Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University and Carlow University. Lettering on both sides of the bag encourages eco-awareness with the command, ‘Go Green, Oakland!” The bags themselves, despite their slogan, cannot help the environment alone. The project’s hope is that students toting the bags should reuse them to create a neighborhood where people bring their own bags for shopping instead of relying on plastic bags. Georgia Petropoulos, chairman of the environment committee and executive director of the Oakland Business Improvement District, has a vision for the bags and for the future of the Go Green Campaign.’ She said she believes that the idea of community environmentalism will catch on among young students. ‘You are the first generation to really get it,’ said Petropoulos. ‘We definitely have more projects in the works,’ she said, including an initiative to discourage plastic bottle usage, an offshoot of the green bag project. Along with the bags, students received pamphlets listing eco-friendly businesses where the Business Improvement District encourages them to shop.’ ‘ ‘The opening of the new IGA on Forbes Avenue could not come at a better time,’ says Petropoulos. She hopes that students will use the bags at many Oakland businesses, including the IGA grocery store, stimulating economic growth and encouraging environmental sustainability at the same time.’ Petropoulos also encourages Pitt students to take further steps in the environmental protection of Oakland, especially by coming up with new ways to go green. ‘There are various organizations they can be very active with, such as the Oakland-based Sierra Club,’ she said.’ ‘ ‘ Chairman Clark said the Oakland Task Force has a track record of success in their community projects. ‘We are a very dynamic group. We look for opportunities to enhance the image and the quality of life of Oakland,’ said Clark. One such opportunity came when the task force decided it was time to change Schenley Plaza from a parking lot into a grassy park complete with eateries and a large tent for intimate concerts.’ The $10 million project was financed using funds from the state of Pennsylvania, as well as local businesses and institutions like Pitt, CMU and the Carnegie Library.’ Incoming freshmen may not know it, but the plaza that they enjoy today was completed only two years ago as a result of the planning and implementation of the task force.’ Clark is proud of the way that the task force has solved community problems. ‘When we tackle issues, we always try to find a common denominator where we all can work collaboratively,’ said Clark. The construction of a new bridge for the Boulevard of the Allies entrance to Oakland is another example of the fruits of this coordinated planning. The Pittsburgh Port Authority was planning to build a new bridge for the Boulevard entrance. But when members of the task force saw the design, they wondered if more could be done to make a bridge both functional and aesthetic. ‘We thought, ‘What if we as a community finance a better bridge?” said Clark. After collaborating with the Port Authority, the task force decided on a more decorative bridge design. Clark also knows how important college students are to the growth of Oakland. ‘Pitt students are a vibrant part of the community. Businesses can tell you almost to the minute when the students arrive,’ said Clark. At the same time, Clark advises students ‘to always remember that they are neighbors to people who live here year round.” He encourages students to ‘be respectful in terms of noise, be mindful of your litter, and put your garbage out on the day it’s supposed to go out.’ The task force, in combination with the Business Improvement District, has done and continues to do many other things to help Oakland as a community. Petropoulos also manages the weekly Oakland Farmers market on Sennott Street.’ The Business Improvement District hires street sweepers and has installed cigarette receptacles for hospital employees who go outside to smoke.’ The task force and Business Improvement District are’ working together with the Oakland Transportation Management Association on a project to redesign sidewalks and crosswalks so that streets are safer to cross.