PSU has a good idea; let’s show them up

Mark the calendars of history.

Penn State had a good idea, followed through with it and… Mark the calendars of history.

Penn State had a good idea, followed through with it and set an example for colleges everywhere.

College students have a nasty habit of throwing away lots of perfectly useful items at the end of each term, in a rush to put the rigors of the semester behind them. Any savvy South Oaklander can attest to this proclivity – April boasts some of the finest Dumpster-diving around, in terms of furniture, clothing and bar-filched beer signs.

While it’s distressing to see this indication of consumerism run amok, it’s encouraging to note Penn State’s unique solution. They asked students, rather than throwing out the items they can’t cram into whatever they are driving home, to donate them to a school-sponsored rummage sale.

The sale took place Saturday at 8:30 a.m. with free admission, or, for $5, early birds could get first crack at the goods at 7.

The folks of Happy Valley raised about $37,500 for charity and collected about $18,000 worth of food through an utterly logical, well-thought-out program called Trash to Treasure.

Good for them. Now, how long until we show those jokers up?

Student Government Board ought to be all over this idea like white on rice and make it – much like Pitt itself – far superior.

There’s no question whether we’ve got the resources. Dorms are constantly filling Dumpsters with perfectly decent, if outmoded, furniture. Oakland sidewalks, on any trash day in late April or early May, are like giant, outdoor, free stores. And what does anyone use the patio of Posvar Hall for?Make a University-wide announcement. Send a press release to this newspaper. Pick a weekend after each term ends and have a giant yard sale.

Get the Greeks in on it. Get any interested student organization in on it. Make it a competition. Make it into a new tradition, a great feather in SGB’s cap.

Organizations could rent trucks and charge students – or whoever else came to the sale – a nominal fee to haul their recycled treasures to their homes. See who could raise the most.

If the sale turned into a success, textbooks could even be introduced at future sales. Everyone’s sick of the Book Center’s price gouging on used book buyback rates and prices. Why not have a few tables set aside for texts?

Such a sale could only be a win-win situation. It would keep bulky garbage out of landfills and off the curbs. The money could go to any number of charities. Or the University could certainly use it, after all the funding cuts it has endured.Heck, it could even go to buying a mate for our beloved bronze panther.