Taichung --- In Taiwan, Earth Day is just another day that comes and goes without much significance. For Tunghai University students, however, Earth Day is an opportunity to take charge of their future.
The students from over 30 different countries held a rally outside the President’s office on Earth Day.
Tunghai International College Sustainability Science (SSM) students created a petition to reduce “single-use plastic” on campus when they noticed the number of plastic water bottles on their classmates’ desks. Single-use plastic are products that are only used once before being thrown away. During the 2019 UN Environment Assembly, 170 countries including Taiwan pledged to reduce the amount of this type of plastic in their countries. Despite this promise, most universities in Taiwan have made very little progress toward achieving this goal and most students are unaware of the amount of single-use plastic that they use in their daily life.
With the help of the international and SSM students the petition quickly spread through the International College classrooms to students across Tunghai campus.
With the help of the international and SSM students the petition quickly spread through the International College classrooms to students across Tunghai campus. To raise the awareness of the need to reduce single-use plastic, the students from over 30 different countries held a rally outside the President’s office on Earth Day. Their goal was to present Tunghai President Dr. Kuo-En Chang their petition. The students chanted “Do Something Drastic, Say No to Plastic”, sang songs, and gave speeches about the importance of this gathering. President Chang accepted the student’s petition and pledged to assist the students to devise a plan to reduce single-use plastic on campus.
The students chanted “Do Something Drastic, Say No to Plastic”, sang songs, and gave speeches about the importance of this gathering.
This event was the first of its kind in Taiwan and made Tunghai one of the first universities in Taiwan to pledge to reduce single-use plastic on its campus. More importantly, it demonstrated that the education of sustainability that students receive at Tunghai, can be a catalyst for change.
Every Day is Earth Day!The awareness of the need to reduce single-use plastic.