Brackets are common in the month of March for basketball fans, but not to compare energy uses in residence halls.
Do It In The Dark, sponsored by Students for Environmental Action (SEA) and the Facilities Department, is an event that compares energy uses of the residence halls on Mount Carmel and York Hill using a bracket system. The event started March 23 at midnight and continues until April 13 at midnight.
“The competition is important because it raises awareness of how much electricity as a community we use,” Keith Woodward, director of facilities operation said. “This challenge reminds all of us, in a fun and competitive fashion, that there are ways to reduce our electricity usage.”
The bracket system pairs up residence halls and every week only one advances to the next round based off which building reduced the most energy which can be seen at http://buildingdashboard.net/quinnipiac/. Every student in the winning resident hall will receive a t-shirt and ice cream social and there is also a consolation bracket to keep the losing buildings engaged in the competition.
“The whole reason is to build a habit in the students to conserve energy and resources,” junior Ilya Spektor, the president and founder of SEA said. “We thought the best way to engage students was to have a competition.”
The energy that is used in residence halls comes from fossil fuels and nuclear energy, two sources that contribute to climate change and pollution. Spektor said our contribution to climate change is a major problem that hasn’t been caught onto in this school.
“We have a real chance to introduce the sustainability topic to this school and ignite a movement,” Spektor said.
SEA’s goal is to transform “Do It In The Dark” into an annual event where all students are involved.
“Educating people on the importance of energy conservation is not just a Quinnipiac concern; it is a concern that all citizens should have,” Jennifer Crane, associate director of residential education, said. “This event helps students gain awareness on the difference that small changes in behavior can make on our environment.”
