Preparing for the move-in to college usually takes me a few hours, tossing non-similar items into boxes (Shakespeare anthology next to underwear, shoes with Tupperware) and hoping for the best. I used to make lists, prioritize, assemble bits at a time, but now, come senior year, I figured, as long as I had my phone, pillow and ID card I would at least be able to get through the week and hope my fellow Gusties didn’t mind the fuzz growing on my legs due to the razor I mistakenly left at home.

Come move-in days, then, I always enjoy hearing stories from students who’ve been packing for the last two weeks, had to take two vehicles or can’t fit all their stuff in their rooms. Then the first week of classes come and everyone bombards the Book Mark for their aptly named “Rush” and flees to ‘Kato for more stuff. What is our obsession with stuff? And why does it seem to intensify with our back-to-school days?

Despite Gustavus’ various undertakings to “green” the campus and promote eco-consciousness amongst students, I sense a significant lack of similar enthusiasm applied to these first few days of classes, and more importantly, to move-in days. Furthermore, so much of the recent Green Revolution is, in my opinion, a market scam designed for profit. It’s green, sure, but it’s not the greenest, as it is still based on the purchase and possession of things.

If Gustavus really wants to promote environmental awareness, we will recognize that much of our move-in habits are attached to this obsession with stuff and furthermore hindered by a false sense of what’s “green.” And while I don’t think it is just a Gustavus issue, I do feel that students should be familiarized with alternative options to this Rush For Stuff.

Take for example, school supplies. I can see the thought process in many students’ minds: School is starting, I need things with which and on which to write, and thus will buy those items. Already we see the go-to action of acquiring new things to fill the void. Now, if the student has eco-consciousness on their mind, they might think of purchasing a notebook made from recycled paper and pencils made from sustainable woods, which I feel is still preferred to buying the all new, (and let’s be honest) cheaper versions. Yet, it is still acting under a mentality of purchasing that is simply obscured by the mask of “eco-friendliness.” Bottom line is, it’s buying something new.

There is, Gusties, another option! And that is to remove ourselves from the pressure of buying anything at all. Instead of buying brand-new, instead of buying eco-friendly, we reuse what we already have, borrow from others and find things for free! So the solution to the school supply acquisition question is really: I will reuse that notebook in which I only used the first two pages and that pen I found on the floor of the Campus Center works as well as it’s ever going to.

This all seems so simple, but why, then, do people still purchase unnecessarily?

Think about all the new things you bought for moving to Gustavus, whether it was for the first time as a first-year or for the last time as a senior. Think about if you attempted to “go green” with any of those purchases. Then think about whether you really needed new things at all
Let’s truly be eco-conscious and ask ourselves: do we have an old obsession with new possessions?