The Aquilian
February 2021 Volume 83 Number 4
Gonzaga College High School Men For Others Since 1821
19 Eye St, NW Washington, DC 20001
Trash Talking at Gonzaga By: Charlie Neill ‘21 Editor & Reid Norton ‘21 Features Editor As a Jesuit school, caring for the environment is one of the core ideals of the Gonzaga community. Our planet is facing a myriad of threats - from global warming and rising sea levels to toxic landfills and polluted oceans. In response to these issues, Gonzaga has taken on a greater part in the effort to become more environmentally conscious. The solar panels on the roof of the Carmody Center provide energy for the school, and the school is currently exploring ways to reduce energy consumption
from lighting and other systems. The most recent (and most exciting) addition to Gonzaga’s role in caring for our common home is set to start in the next couple weeks -- a composting initiative. Composting is often associated with nasty, smelly backyard composters, but composting is actually a very effective way to reduce Gonzaga’s carbon footprint. Gonzaga currently produces around 65 tons of waste per year. If even half of that is compostable (which is a reasonable estimate), this initiative will both reduce waste and produce natural compost for local farms. The school is hiring Veteran Compost, a local small composting business that, as
the name implies, is veteran owned and employs mostly veterans. They operate three composting sites in the DMV area and are the only local composting company to offer tours of their facility, which is an exciting opportunity for the AP Environmental Science class, Environmental Club, and anyone else who is interested. Composting will start behind the counter in the Sage kitchen and McKenna Center. This first step will be mostly invisible to those of us dutifully coming to school on our cohort days (as everyone who’s able should already be doing), as Sage employees and the folks at McKenna Center will be throwing compost into bins in the kitchen
before taking them out to the loading dock. Once on the loading dock, the bins will be picked up by Veteran Compost’s employees. Once this is running smoothly, the next step will be expanding the composting bins into the cafeteria, where lunch leftovers, compostable silverware, paper plates, and more can all be added to the composting bins. So look out for updates about composting in the cafeteria, but until then, you can sleep a little better at night knowing your school is making a difference and setting an example in making the world a better place to live in. To learn more about composting at Gonzaga or Veteran Compost contact Reid
A New President, 2
Spring Sports, 4
NFL & Caps, 7
Who’s the Best?, 8
Photos By: Charlie Neill ‘21
Norton (nortonr@gonzaga. org), Charlie Neill (neillc@ gonzaga.org), or Mr. Ausema (jausema@gonzaga.org) of the Environmental Club. The Aquilian wastes nothing! So enjoy an early draft of this article’s first few lines... “The world as we know it is falling apart. Global warming is threatening our ecosystems, rising sea levels will leave half the world underwater by 2050, the covid-19 virus is ravaging our communities, and Mr. Pugliese still thinks ToastMasters is the best club at Gonzaga. But in the midst of all this disaster, there is hope. The sun is finally rising on this darkest of nights...”