Adelphi University Kicks off Fresh Air Initiative

Adelphi University held a kick-off for its new Fresh Air Initiative, a program that expands the University’s extensive sustainability efforts and focus on health and wellness, outside the Ruth S. Harley University Center on September 8, 2014.

Students and faculty who stopped by learned about the new campaign and Adelphi’s commitment to being an environmentally friendly campus.

The centerpiece of the initiative is the new policy on smoking which created designated areas for smoking to protect other students, faculty, administrators, and visitors from second-hand smoke. “Now I can walk out of a residence hall without there being a big cloud of smoke,” said Christina Lucci, a senior math major. The goals of the program are to improve the environment and provide a healthy community to live and work on campus. “It is the hope of the committee, that the policy will not only create a more healthful environment for everyone, but it will also reduce the amount of litter in the form of cigarette butts that can be found on campus. It may open up spaces for people to come together and enjoy the campus in spaces they previously felt were harmful to their health,” said Perry Greene, associate provost for faculty affairs and institutional diversity at Adelphi University.

At the event, as an added incentive to increase awareness and get the students and campus involved, there were giveaways, informational flyers and Vines (short, looping videos) being made of students who wanted to show their support. In addition to the new smoking policy, students also learned about the Panther Share program for carpooling and the electric charging stations in the underground parking garage underneath Motamed Field. Educating students about the process of becoming a more healthful environment is a step towards the goal of community cooperation in this initiative. “It helps us realize that we are a part of a bigger world and the little things make a difference,” said Dr. Diana Feige, a clinical associate professor in the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education.