Memorable phrases are constantly strewn across the posters that decorate Monte Vista’s halls. But, where do these posters come from, and more importantly, where do they go? They are a product of the hard work of Monte Vista’s leadership class. Still, the leadership class has always remained somewhat of a mystery to the rest of the school. How do they pull off the rapid decorating and cleaning processes that are needed to keep the school in high spirits for upcoming events, and how sustainable are they while doing it?
Leadership makes posters for a myriad of reasons. Whether they’re intended to excite students for an upcoming sports event or to share an encouraging message before finals, large posters are found all over the walls of Monte Vista.
Leadership rally chair, Ryan Razeghi, provided insight on the influx of poster materials he notices each year.
“We order poster paper, I want to say, about three to four times a year,” Razeghi said. “Our rolls are huge–they probably weigh 20-25 pounds–and we probably order five of each color. And obviously when we have events we use a lot more, so I don’t know quantity wise, but [Leadership uses] a lot [of poster paper].”
To understand the amount of materials used, it is necessary to understand how much money is spent on materials as well.
“I would estimate that we spend around 10,000 dollars on materials,” said Leadership treasurer Theo Polyzos.
He clarified that this amount wasn’t necessarily spent every year, but about every two years or so.
Additionally, Stephan Twitchell, a custodian, commented on the waste of poster products he has observed at Monte Vista in his years working here.
“The main waste product from Leadership would be the paper signage they put up for sport games and clubs,” Twitchell said. “Most of the time they ball it up and put it in garbage cans, and we pick it up and put it in recycling. Sometimes they clean it up, but a lot of times the custodians have to take [the signage] down as well as the sticky tape on the walls and poles.”
While poster and tape waste may seem like an unsustainable part of Leadership, that’s not the entire story. ASB President and Monte Vista senior Maddy Park is also the president of the Climate Action Now (CAN) club, and she actively takes steps towards making leadership as sustainable as it can be. Park says that she has helped the class foster sustainability by teaching about the specifics of recycling and composting, leading projects in creating signs to label different types of trash bins. She makes sure Leadership reuses decorations that they already own for school dances, and focuses on only buying decorations that can be reused if a new purchase is necessary. Park also advertises monthly campus trash cleanups which leadership students often join, advises the leadership class on sorting their trash, and asks them to share this information with others.
“While I can promote sustainability in leadership, it is to a limited extent because Leadership is not CAN,” Park said. “I am able to spread information and encourage action in ASB while still focusing on serving people and the [qualities Leadership advocates]. But with CAN, I can specifically work on environmental [issues]. There is a subtle difference.”
A large part of Park’s contributions involve spreading awareness to her classmates about the need for change.
“I do think [Maddy] has been a big help this year in helping us realize the things on campus that need to be [changed], but obviously there is always room to improve,” Razeghi said.
With the rise of global temperatures and the increasing urgency of climate change, the idea of sustainability has become more and more important. It’s essential for our school to do its part in taking steps to limit our waste and become more sustainable. For this reason it’s important to see that classes, clubs, and organizations in our school, such as Leadership, do their part to help the effort as well so that we can strive to become a more sustainable high school.
