UM Green Week features an eco-fashion show and gala.
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi’s sixth annual Green Week celebration kicks off on Earth Day (April 22) with the goal of opening a campuswide dialogue about sustainability.
Rob Nixon, author of “Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor” (Harvard University Press, 2011), will deliver the Earth Day keynote lecture at 7 p.m. that day at the Overby Center. His session focuses on complex global issues related to sustainability, including “slow violence,” the slowly unfolding environmental effects that are often underpublicized or unnoticed.
“As we educate and support the development of the next generation for responsible citizenship, we consider these global issues to be of critical importance to their preparation,” said Anne McCauley, assistant director of the UM Office of Sustainability. “Changing behaviors and habits are important, but equally important is understanding the larger context behind why we advocate for these changes. We hope Green Week brings to light both actions for individual responsibility as well as awareness of social, environmental and economic challenges that need to be addressed.
The week’s events include Business in the Green, during which representatives from International Paper, Project Green Fork and Toyota will share sustainable strategies and operational practices in the workplace. The event is set for 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Oxford Conference Center.
Other events include the annual eco-fashion show and gala, which features outfits made from uncommon materials, and the annual Green Week Sustainability Fair. The fair will feature plastic bag knitting, an on-campus farmers market and displays from several university groups.
An Arbor Day tree planting and celebration in the Grove conclude the week’s activities on Friday.
“It is a week where we, as a community, can build our environmental conscience and strengthen our commitment to lowering our global impact,” said Kendall McDonald, a junior public policy major from Bay St. Louis who serves as the Office of Sustainability’s Green Week intern. “Green Week also plays an invaluable educational role by engaging those who have not previously been exposed to environmental issues.”
All events are free and open to the public. Green Week events are sponsored by the UM Office of Sustainability, Environmental Studies Minor, Students for a Green Campus, Landscape Services, the Oxford-Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Foundation, Jim Keras Subaru, the College of Liberal Arts, Southern Documentary Project, Croft Institute for International Studies, Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, the UM departments of English and history, and the city of Oxford.
2014 Green Week Schedule of Events
Tuesday, April 22
Business in the Green – 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Oxford Conference Center
Earth Day keynote address – 7 p.m., Overby Center, speaker, Rob Nixon, “Slow Violence, Environmental Activism and the Arts”
Wednesday, April 23
Green Week Sustainability Fair – 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Student Union Plaza
Udall Scholarship Workshop – 4 p.m., Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Room 311
Eco Fashion Show and Gala – 7 p.m., Bryant Hall
Friday, April 23
Arbor Day Tree Planting and Celebration – 11:30 a.m., Grove
For more information, contact Ann McCauley at green@olemiss.edu.