Organizations collaborate in campus-wide cleanup project

Casey Shortt

A bed frame, an exhaust pipe, beer cans and Taco Bell food wrappers were among the items cleaned up around campus as a part of Cleaning Up Campus.

Around 30 volunteers gathered Saturday at the Bovee University Center Multicultural Education Center with the North American Indigenous Student Organization for the campus-wide cleanup.

They divided into five groups and kicked off Native American Heritage Month. The cleanup was an homage to the Native American tradition of honoring Mother Earth.

White Lake senior Kyle Krukowski said there was a lot of empty Jell-O shot containers, McDonald’s wrappers and broken glass.

“It does feel good in the end to know you put your part in,” Krukowski said.

The groups focused on areas that are likely to be dirty because of student activities, such as the tailgating parking lot.

Grand Haven junior Wesley J. Parish thought the cleanup went well. Parish coordinated the event, and is also head of volunteer work for NAISO.

“I feel really good about it,” Parish said.

Along with Parish and other NAISO members, volunteers from other organizations assisted in the cleanup.

Lansing sophomore Duong Ngo, who is a member of the Asian Culture Organization, heard about this cleanup in his organization’s meeting and decided to volunteer.

“It always feels nice to give back to the community,” Ngo said.

It was not only an opportunity for Ngo to give back to the community, but also a chance to meet fellow students he did not know.

“It was nice to meet new people,” Ngo said.

Various other events will take place in November for Native American Heritage Month. Students can check out the art exhibit in the Multicultural Education Center in the UC with selected paintings by Norman Neyome from the Clarke Historical Library’s Olga Denison Collection. Baskets and beadwork created and collected by CMU Native American students will also be present at the exhibit.

On Tuesday, also at the Multicultural Education Center, a documentary of a CMU student’s relative who was shot by an Ontario Provisional Police officer while protesting will take place from noon to 2 p.m.

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