SGA holds tree planting ceremony

Brooke Long | Staff Writer

Potted plants, planting trees, and tree frogs were all a part of the “green” themed Earth Day activities that took place on campus Monday.

The events began Monday afternoon when students were encourage to give their green thumbs a try and take home a potted plant in the name of being environmentally friendly.

Junior radiology student Chelsey Kamps said that the school let her know about the events before they even began – via text message.

“I didn’t even know it was Earth Day, but I got three texts from MSU this morning,” Kamps said. “One didn’t have anything to do with Earth Day, but the other two were about potted plants in the student center, and an Around the World in 90 MInutes presentation.”

Later in the afternoon the Student Government Association planted a tree in the quadrangle near the Dillard college of business.

The tree was planted to commemorate the years of service given by faculty members who are retiring this year.

SGA president Anthony Gallina read from Vince Tamani’s poem “A Teacher For all Seasons” as the speeches about the retirees came to a close. The ceremony ended with each professor shoveling soil onto the roots of the tree.

“I really like Earth Day,” Junior pre-psychology student Justin Kennedy said. “The earth puts the motion in the ocean.”

The main event was “Around the World in 90 Minutes,” presented by Marty Essen. During the presentation he told stories about his travels to all seven continents, and the animal and plant life he saw in each place. Essen also spoke about his award winning book “Cool Animals, Hot Planet.”

“I think of myself as an adventurer, a story-teller,  an entertainer, and a writer” Essen said.

While most of the show was full of anecdotal stories and physical comedy Essen shared his thoughts on a serious topic; oil pipelines.

“I hate it when people say that we should drill up in Alaska because there isn’t anything we can hurt,” Essen said as he flipped through pictures of plants which live in the tundra. “We are hurting all of these plants, and nearing the end of summer the Porcupine Caribou that migrate through this region.”

According to Essen he has been giving the presentation for more than six years. Midwestern State is one of the stops on a three week tour.

“I haven’t been able to plan many long trips since I began travelling to present this at colleges, but I try to fit in mini-adventures between my performances,” Essen said. “I was in Arizona last week and I had the weekend off so I spend a few days exploring the Mojave.”

Even after being bitten by leeches, and almost swallowed by a hippopotamus Essen said there is only one place he has traveled that he didn’t like.

“There is this miserable little country called Andorra, and when we discovered that we had an extra day in Europe we decided to visit it. Well, apparently the government in Andorra doesn’t impose a sales tax and the entire country is basically just a giant mall and a traffic jam,” Essen said.

Earth Day only comes once a year, but Essen said he encourages students to always be conscious of their environment.

“I’ve seen the holiday grow from Earth Day to Earth Week,” Essen said. “I’d like to see it become Earth Month.”