By Joergen Ostensen

Students for Environmental Awareness and Justice (SEAJ) hosted Sustainability Week, which according to USG’s Vice President of Sustainability, Gabriel Perez, FCRH ’21, was a big success.

“I feel like it went so well, I’m really happy with the way the events turned out,” Perez said.
On Monday, SEAJ put on a sustainable products sale, where they sold bamboo toothbrushes and metal straws. Perez said they sold out an hour before they were supposed to leave their table.

Selling out became a theme for the week.

SEAJ’s president, Lilian Round, FCRH ’20, said that they sold out during their vegan bake sale on Tuesday and the flea market they held on Friday.
Perez said the success of certain programs drives future projects for the group.

“To know that that’s something students want, like they want more access to sustainable products, knowing for future programming that’s something people want, we’ll get funding for that, we’ll do that again,” she said.

Fordham Flea was also a highlight of the week for Perez and Round.

“This was the best Fordham Flea ever,” Perez said.

Round said that they raised nine hundred dollars, making it the most successful flea market SEAJ had ever put on. Perez said they were able to sell clothes they had been trying to get rid of for years.

“It’s awesome to see these events grow with each semester,” Round said. “It’s exciting to see people excited about what we’re doing.”

Perez said the success was the result of the event drawing on people from a diverse Fordham community. She said this was illustrated by the presence of everyone from athletes to Marketplace workers.

“This is an event that really brought different people on campus together,” she said.

SEAJ also hosted a panel on Sustainability in the city. Panelists ranged from students and professionals in sustainability initiatives in the Bronx.

“The conversation was amazing. It was really inspiring. I learned so much information about what’s going on in the city,” said Perez.

Here, Perez said she noticed a lot of familiar faces. Many of the students who attended the panel were already interested in sustainability and an active part of the environmentally conscious community at Fordham, according to Perez.

“It made me realize that we have to plan our events and do our initiatives more with students who aren’t already involved with sustainability,” she said.

She said now they have begun to plan co-programming with other clubs on campus to expand the reach of the club.

In the future, she said she hopes to draw more new people into those type of informational events.

“We have to plan our events with students not already involved with sustainability,” she said.

Perez said SEAJ intends to start planning events in conjunction with other student organizations in an effort to broaden their visibility on campus. She also said the event screening the movie Chasing Coral prompted SEAJ to plan a week dedicated to the ocean later in the year.

According to Perez, the two main goals of the week were to make students more aware of issues of sustainability and get more students to actively engage with their events, and she felt both were accomplished.

“I was blown away by this week,” she said.
programming that’s something people want, we’ll get funding for that, we’ll do that again,” she said.

Fordham Flea was also a highlight of the week for Perez and Round.

“This was the best Fordham Flea ever,” Perez said.

Round said that they raised $900, making it the most successful flea market SEAJ had ever put on. Perez said they were able to sell clothes they had been trying to get rid of for years.

“It’s awesome to see these events grow with each semester,” Round said. “It’s exciting to see people excited about what we’re doing.”

Perez said the success was the result of the event drawing on people from a diverse Fordham community. She said this was illustrated by the presence of everyone from athletes to Marketplace workers.

“This is an event that really brought different people on campus together,” she said.

SEAJ also hosted a panel on sustainability in the city. Panelists ranged from students and professionals in sustainability initiatives in the Bronx.

“The conversation was amazing. It was really inspiring. I learned so much information about what’s going on in the city,” said Perez.

Here, Perez said she noticed a lot of familiar faces. Many of the students who attended the panel were already interested in sustainability and an active part of the environmentally conscious community at Fordham, according to Perez.

“It made me realize that we have to plan our events and do our initiatives more with students who aren’t already involved with sustainability,” she said.

She said now they have begun to plan co-programming with other clubs on campus to expand the reach of the club.

In the future, she said she hopes to draw more new people into those type of informational events.

Perez said SEAJ intends to start planning events in conjunction with other student organizations in an effort to broaden their visibility on campus. She also said the event screening the movie Chasing Coral prompted SEAJ to plan a week dedicated to the ocean later in the year.

According to Perez, the two main goals of the week were to make students more aware of issues of sustainability and get more students to actively engage with their events, and she felt both were accomplished.

“I was blown away by this week,” she said.