Students and Teachers Take Environment Into Consideration

Yesterday afternoon Texas State students and Teachers spoke of their environmental opinions and what Texas State University has done to inform them of the world around them. Several students said that they held some amount of concern for the environment while some other students said otherwise.

Whether the students or teachers were environmentally concerned or not, they said that some of their classes revolved around or discussed environmental sustainability at some point. There was no connection found between the students or teachers participating in these classes and their environmental opinions.

Russell Boothe, a senior philosophy & finance double major, was among the students in the environmentally unconcerned group that had in fact discussed the issue in class. “Unfortunately yes we talk about this a lot in my philosophy of dialogue and philosophy of technology classes,” said Boothe. He did go on to say that although he isn’t concerned for the environment he does try not to litter.

Lindsey Futrell, a nursing major, said she had experienced something similar to Russel Boothe. “In university seminar we have an online forum discussion, questions and answers online and even discuss the environment in class,” said Futrell. Unlike Mr. Boothe, Lindsey Futrell claimed she’s not environmentally concerned and doesn’t pay attention to “that stuff.”

Professor Audrey McKinney, a teacher at Texas State, teaches a class called Environmental Topics and has these discussions in class daily. “I am very concerned about my health and our environment affects that,” said McKinney. She even prefers using products that are naturally compost-able over those that are recyclable.

On the other hand some students felt differently even without discussing the topic in their classes. Tammy Erwin, a French major, is environmentally concerned without any influence from these class discussions. “I ride my bike everywhere because I’m not creating air pollution,” said Erwin.

Some students were so concerned for the environment that they were almost upset that their class hadn't discussed the subject. "Unfortunately, we have not discussed environmental sustainability in any of my classes," said Adeline Fresch, a national business major. Her biggest concern is the amount of trash produced each year and the length of time it will remain here.

Stephanie Pridgen, a texas state graduate student, has never discussed the topic in any of her classes and still calls it "one of her mid-level priorities." She tries to help the cause by recycling. "I recycle because if we reuse, then we don't have to create and we lessen our carbon footprint."