A Biodegradable Ritz
Dear Reporter,
I would like to take this opportunity to inform
the students of RIT about the efforts of Dining
Services—and in particular, the pilot program
in the Ritz Sports Zone—to commit to sustainable
business practices.
Starting March 10, new biodegradable products
are available at the Ritz Sports Zone, which consist
of Polylactic Acid (PLA), Renewable Forest
Fiber, and other natural fibers. PLA is a kind of
“plastic” produced by a resin that is derived from
renewable resources such as corn. Unlike conventional
plastics, which take hundreds of years
to break down and can leach harmful chemicals,
PLA is capable of decomposing back into water,
carbon dioxide, and organic material.
Renewable Forest Fiber refers to paper products
that are made from 100% renewable forest fiber,
which comes from forest lands certified under
the Sustainable Forestry Industry® (SFI) and ISO
14001 standards. Green Wave is a specific brand
of products being used, which consists of natural
fibers including sugar cane, grass, and reed
plasma. The pilot program involves sending preconsumer
vegetable scraps from the kitchen to
Freshwise Farms, a division of Foodlink, to be
composted. The next step will be to begin composting
the bioplastics and other compostable
single service ware also.
So next time you are done eating in the Ritz, be
sure to look for the special containers for your
biodegradable products.
HEATHER NEWTON
President of SEAL
Second year Environmental Management &
Technology
A Change of Major
Dear Reporter,
I am a second year RIT student who spent the
first two quarters of her freshman year studying
engineering. I then took off Spring 2006
for a medical issue. I came back this fall and
continued with engineering, which was when
I decided I had to change majors because ISE
(Industrial & Systems Engineering) just wasn't
doing it for me. I wanted more. I wanted to do
other things.
So, during fall quarter I spoke with Lynne Mazadoorian
at the Institute Advising Office, who
was a great help in finding a new major that
better suited my needs. She even helped me
decide on a few other schools in case I wanted
to transfer out of RIT. She told me photography
was a hard major to get into (especially in the
middle of the year!), and to prepare myself for
the prospect that I might be rejected, or that I
would be told I'd have to wait until Fall 2008. I
took all of her advice and eventually decided to
contact Bill DuBois, the Administrative Chair of
Photographic Arts programs. He agreed to meet
with me to have a portfolio review.
Mr. DuBois was very nice and welcoming, and he
placed me in winter classes of sequence courses
even though I did not have proper prerequisites.
He let me take 2D design, a course that is generally
taken during your second year as a Photography
major. And above all, he let me into the
demanding summer photography program, and
agreed to be my adviser. I don't have a 4.0 GPA,
and I wasn't enjoying some of my engineering
classes. He knew this, and asked me what I felt
I could handle.
I was a girl who knew what she wanted and he
saw that. I want the students of RIT to know that
not every major changing experience at RIT is
an awful one. Lynne Mazadoorian is a great help
for anyone looking to change majors, or transfer
out of RIT, and I recommend talking to her. She's
located in the basement of Building 77, and appointments
to see her can even be made online.
The website for that is http://www.rit.edu/academicaffairs/transfer/.
When I started my quest, I had no idea that
Lynne even existed. I thought I'd just have to
figure out how to change majors on my own. I
didn't give up though, and searched for information
until I found the transfer website. Maybe it
should be more widely known that she is there
to help with internal as well as external transferring.
She is even helpful if you're just unsure and
you want to know what else might be out there.
RIT offers many resources for every type of
problem. Sometimes, you just have to look to
find them.
EMILY MOHLMANN
Second year Advertising Photography
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