By Maggie Strong
Staff Writer

Students will have the opportunity to express their appreciation of the earth and learn how to preserve its resources during Purdue's upcoming Earth Day 2000.

Although the national Earth Day is Saturday, Purdue's Earth Day 2000 will be celebrated on Wednesday, beginning at 10 a.m. on Purdue's Memorial Mall.

Jessica Spain, a member of the Environmental Action Committee of Purdue Student Government, was in charge of organizing Purdue's Earth Day. She said, "Through the organization, I have learned how to spark people's interests on the issues and to combat apathy within the Purdue community."

During the day, the Hoosier Environmental Council and about 25 other organizations will be on the mall to provide information to students about their environmentally conscious establishments. Children are invited to play games during the event. The theater group Crazy Monkeys, as well as five or six bands — including Groove Hop and The Bliss Gypsies — will be providing entertainment. Free vegan and vegetarian sandwiches from Subway will also be provided for those who attend. The festivities will conclude around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

PSG senator Ryan Allison said, "Purdue's Earth Day is one day of the year that we can get out there and remind people of the importance the environment plays in our everyday lives and how important it is to maintain a clean environment."

At 6 p.m. on Monday, The Natural Foods Dinner will be held at the Wesley Foundation. The dinner will be free, and the community will have the opportunity to learn about the effects that their diets have on the environment.

Aside from Purdue's Earth Day 2000 and The Natural Foods Dinner, there have been other correlating events concerning the education of Purdue's community about earth preservation.

On Thursday, the Environment and Indigenous People's Protection Alliance gave a lecture. The group spoke of the many experiences that it has endured as activists.

On Wednesday, students participated in the Critical Mass Bike Ride. At noon, about 20 students met at Memorial Mall and filled out fake parking tickets; they rode around campus for about 45 minutes and proceeded to give the tickets to people or place them on cars. On the parking tickets, students would circle infractions such as "noise pollution" and "ozone depletion." According to Spain, "We need to educate the community about the impact that their lifestyles have on the environment."

On Wednesday, Hoosier environmentalist Andy Mahler gave a lecture about the protection and restoration of Indiana forests. Mahler formed the group Hartwood, an organization that educates the public about the respective methods of conservation. He was also recently elected to the board of directors of Greenpeace.

Spain said, "One person really can make a difference and by changing small things, they can become activists." This year is the 30th anniversary of the national Earth Day.