Ryan ChartrandFor the latter part of my life, I’ve had a love affair with the color green. At times, I believed it was just an aesthetically pleasing shade; I love looking into my closet and seeing the chartreuse, jade, moss and olive smile back at me. But after time to reflect and really ponder this obsession, I began to realize that it is not just that green works with my skin tone, but my subconscious may have something to do with my fixation.
Is it really a coincidence that no sandwich seems complete without avocado? Don’t margaritas or straight tequila just seem lonely without a squirt of lime? Mint chocolate chip ice cream is a marvelous midnight snack, and I tend to prefer crisp green grapes over purple. Vegetables are good for the mind, body and soul, and some of the most notable vitamin landmines live in shades of kelly, pine or viridian. Have you ever heard of fried red tomatoes? I think not.
The Wicked Witch of the West was green, you say? Read Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked” or watch the Broadway musical adaptation of the same name and you’ll learn that Elphaba, a magical genius who happened to have green skin, unwarrantedly became the Wicked Witch of the West because she was an animal rights activist who got a bad rap from the phony Wizard of Oz.
Other notable green associations are, but not limited to, money, Kermit, emeralds, environmentalists, the military, one of Cal Poly’s colors and St. Patrick’s Day.
And, there is one more thing that I’m sure many Cal Poly students can agree upon that’s green, and although this substance may lessen a sense of urgency in most cases, singer Ben Harper says, “it’s a gift, from the Earth, and what’s from the Earth is of the greatest worth.” If you’re into that sort of deal, remember that you’re consequently involved with the environment and thus you are obligated to do something.
And this brings me to my next point. Although green can be found aberrantly in neon forms and in the skin of witches, the green I love rests in nature. Green algae and green plankton, at the bottom of the food chain in the ocean, serve as a food source for many sea creatures. Green plants provide humans with oxygen.
Countless times I find myself halting in misstep, looking up in awe at the beauty above me that is trees. While running through the streets of San Luis Obispo, the lush verdurous plants serve as a better jogging companion than any iPod playlist I could ever formulate.
In order to preserve our surroundings, we must acknowledge that they someday may cease to exist. In a workshop at Change the Status Quo last Saturday, I watched a video in which coal miners in West Virginia simply blow off the tops of mountains to retrieve the coal below, and it was brought to my attention that such activity takes place all over the world. Our earth, full of beautiful vert, is being destroyed. Although lately this has heavily been brought to public attention, some people in our town don’t even recycle.
“Well, my apartment complex doesn’t have a recycling bin” is not an excuse. Call your landlord and tell him to get on the green bandwagon; walk a block to find a bin or just drink less beer and stop using disposable dishes because frankly, green and I are not ready to end our relationship.
The attendance at Change the Status Quo was high, but it was filled with people whom I seem to see at most activist/change the world/do good events.
My hope is that someday a larger proportion of Cal Poly students will forgo a Saturday of sloshball for a Saturday of educational seminars. We attend school for a finite amount of time, and events like Change the Status Quo do not happen too often. We should value and take advantage of such opportunities because although we are here to go to class, from personal experience, I can attest that there is much more knowledge to obtain at other venues. Those venues are probably painted green.
Rachel Gellman is a journalism junior, the assistant sports editor and a Mustang Daily reporter.