Wake Forest dims Wait Chapel for Earth Hour
On March 27th from 8:30-9:30 pm, Wake Forest University participated in Earth Hour 2010. This event, started by the World Wildlife Fund in Sydney, Australia, aims to raise awareness about global climate change. By symbolically “flipping the switch” on Wait Chapel’s spotlights, students, faculty, and staff were encouraged to recognize the energy-saving benefits of remembering to turn off all non-essential lighting.
The event included food, music, an acoustic band, and give-a-ways prizes. With over 200 students on the Quad to watch the lights on Wait Chapel turn off, Wake Forest joined over 120 countries and more than a billion people around the globe in promoting energy reduction actions. Even the downtown Winston-Salem Wachovia building took part in this event by extinguishing its lights for this symbolic hour-long event. Participants signed pledges to reduce their energy consumption beyond simply the hour by unplugging their unused chargers and turning off their unnecessary lighting. Students also exchanged incandescent light bulbs from their rooms for CFLs.
The Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) was thrilled by the turnout for the Earth Hour event, an event that has become an annual affair. According to student leaders of the organization, “the support of the President’s Office and Facilities was integral to its success, and we are pleased that the university was recognized nationally in its effort to reduce the effects of global climate change.”
For more information on Wake Forest’s Earth Hour, check out WWF’s highlights of this international event in its press release.
Kathleen Pritchard, Communications and Outreach Intern