Oswego State Sustainability Office hosts a three-day “Clozet Sale” in Hewitt Ballroom, selling donated items, included clothes, hats, scarves and bedding.
All proceeds acquired from the Clozet Sale will be put toward the effort of planting trees on campus, according to Katherine Spector, a math professor who works with the Office of Learning Services and sustainability advocate.
Spector mentioned that much more work goes into planting trees than simply purchasing saplings and putting them into the earth. Due to climate change, grounds workers must be consulted about which species will thrive and where they will last the longest on campus, even preparing for possible climate shifts.
“We wanted to have it Thursday and Friday to hit more of the students as they are coming back to campus. A lot of times you get back to campus and you’re like, ‘Oh I forgot this, or I forgot that,’ so instead of having them take that trip out to Walmart to buy something new, to stay on campus and get something a lot cheaper, is really helpful for the students,” graduate intern for the Office of Sustainability, Spencer Johnson said.
In efforts of being convenient and available to residents of the city of Oswego as well, the Clozet Sale continued on into Saturday, Johnson said.
Over the course of the three-day event, Spector and Johnson speculated that they have done quite well, however they believe they will likely have clothes leftover.
“We’ve done really well, and we are well on our way to getting together enough of the money we need for Arbor Day,” Spector said.
On Saturday, Johnson and Taylor Larsen a sustainability advocate, handled the transactions of ‘the bag sale’ in which customers could grab a bag varying in size from grocery bags to garbage bags, and fill them at a flat rate of $5.
The clothes for sale were accumulated from the previous semester by means of donation boxes stationed at various residence halls.
Johnson said much of the donations came from students, either international or out of state, who had accumulated too much and would not be able to take it all back home. Similarly, other students doing spring cleaning and deciding they do not need these belongings anymore contributed donations rather than to a landfill.
Photo by Hannah Leonard
