Not all cleaning efforts Sunday afternoon were focused on Palmer Street, as hundreds gathered to give Athens a bit of a makeover.
An event record of more than 800 volunteers met at Scripps Amphitheater for the eighth annual Athens Beatification Day — a Student Senate-sponsored event to clean Ohio University’s campus as well as the city of Athens.
“This day is a day for students to give back to the community who’s given them so much,” said Thomas Raabe, a graduate student studying public administration and event organizer.
At noon, volunteers gathered to drink coffee provided by Donkey Coffee and Espresso before receiving directions to a specific site and instructions.
More than 30 sites, including the Dairy Barn Arts Center, OU’s Ecohouse and Red Cross, covered five square miles in the Athens area and required mulching, planting and removing debris, Raabe said.
This year’s event had one of the highest turnouts compared with years past, Student Senate President Kyle Triplett said.
“We are very appreciative of the city’s support and local vendors,” he said. “I think it went really well, really, very smoothly.”
Volunteers more than doubled from last year because of a natural increase in involvement and Raabe’s re-organization of the event, Triplett said.
City representatives visited some of the sites to see the progress, Triplett added.
“I consider myself kind of an activist, and I thought this was a great idea,” said Claire Elliott, a freshman studying sociology. “I get to help the Earth and be productive.”
Elliott, who spent her time sweeping bricks that lead to OU’s Baker University Center, said she would like to see more collective “cleanup days” in a year.
“You don’t do anything once a year. That’s not enough,” Elliott said. “They need them more, especially in the spring time and fest season.”
Volunteers were invited back to Scripps after they finished cleaning for sandwiches provided by Kiser’s BBQ Shack, Raabe said.
Cleanup sites were sponsored by more than 50 local businesses and campus organizations, such as the Division of Student Affairs, OU Program Council and Senate Appropriations Commission.
— Brian Vadakin contributed to this article.
sj950610@ohiou.edu
