Proactive students have recently brainstormed ways to improve the overall atmosphere of Saint A’s campus. The Student Government Association, Green Team and Residential Life have joined together to create the Respect Campaign, an initiative focused on advocating for a cleaner and more respectful community.

In an interview, Tim Merrill ‘19, Chair of the Welfare Committee, stated that this initiative is centered around recycling, and creating a litter-free, smoke-free campus.

“The idea is that we need to respect our campus, and that means the literal campus grounds as well. We want the best for our campus, and we know our fellow students do as well,” says Merrill.

The movement originated when students noticed a lack of trash cans in Uppers, resulting in an ongoing waste problem. In fact, there are only six total trash cans on campus, contributing to the issue with trash disposal. As the group deliberated over ways to solve this problem, the issue evolved into a broader concept: the Respect Campaign.

Merrill states that while the group plans on advancing this campaign, the trash can issue “is still on the back of [their] minds.” Merrill also noted that “While we feel like we have formed a solid campaign, it is still very much new.”

Moving forward, the next step for the campaign is to gain more supporters by reaching out to clubs, athletics, Resident’s Assistants, administration, and anyone else willing to support the movement. The group hopes to form a coalition of students and faculty working collaboratively towards a better, cleaner campus.

This campaign sees it as the college community’s duty to come together as Anselmians to generate respect for the campus and peers. So far, there has been significant support for the new campaign and the issues presented. The group hopes to gain more supporters and raise awareness for the issues to create a more respectful, eco-friendly community.