The Spectator The independent student newspaper of Valdosta State University
“Reduce, reuse, recycle Remerton.”
This was the chant of the RRRR group that protested in front of Remerton City Hall with picket signs. From 4:30p.m to 5:30p.m., a small group of students gathered at the end of Poplar Street to speak out against Remerton’s lack of a recycling program.
“I’m not in charge of this, I just assigned the students to make a protest based on a social issue,” Dana Williams, a sociology professor at VSU, said. His class is a social movement class and he assigned a project to a group of students to make a protest on a social issue.
According to Williams, RRRR is the first he’s actually seen his students go after something attainable. He also says that there could be more similar protests occurring elsewhere in Valdosta in the near future because of other students in his class.
The picketers lined West Gordon Street and chanted every time that cars passed.
At one point, a lady in a black Silverado stopped and asked what the picket was about, which
was explained in full detail.
“Basically Remerton has been given a chance to become more clean and eco friendly for free and has said no,” Marina Siegel, VSU student, said.
The State of Georgia had issued out grants of $450,000 to the local hubs in various regions of the state to help them recycle the area in a 75 mile radius, and every time the initiative was brought to Remerton they opted not to help.
RRRR has been around for two months as an organization, but has the support of 14 organizations including Remerton’s bars and restaurants. As an organization they’ve been making announcements via 90.9BlazeFM—VSU’s radio station. This was their first actual event and it seemed to have a good impact.
Following the protest, the whole of the organization brought their case up to the Remerton City Council.
Marina and Brittany Daughtry stood before the council. They explained the grant, asked why they had not yet implemented a recycling program and why they had refused to allow help from the city of Valdosta.
“We never received any letters of implementing a recycling system from the city of Valdosta, but had we known about the grant we would have said yes,” Bill Wetherington, Mayor Pro Tem., said.
The council seemed to know nothing about the grant, but keened up when RRRR said that it would personally volunteer to help with the maintenance of a recycling facility.
At the end of the meeting the city council said it would do a follow up later in the week and that Remerton might soon start recycling.
Wow…really?
I understand this is a class assignment, but in the VDT this morning it mentions nothing about it being a class assignment.
Suddenly we are to believe these students are worried about recycling?????
For as long as I can remember, VSU students have been trashing mailboxes, and throwing trash, like beer bottles and cans along the streets and yards of Remerton, not even caring about the people it affected. Now you try to make it look like the city didn’t care and never cared at all?
Did these students even understand how cities work? Staff changes, council changes, and sometimes things aren’t some evil attempt to ruin the world. Sounds like a little communication between these students and the city could have probably solved the issue, but, it looked like somebody needed a convenient “protest” for school purposes.
How about the bars and the students promote responsibility and keeping their trash in cans instead of on the streets and neighborhoods? Then maybe people would take your “protest” more seriously.
Steve
I appreciate that this VSU professor helped his students learn the importance of protesting and other forms of social advocacy. With so many students apathetic and concerned with trivial things, it’s nice to see fine young adults standing up for an important environmental and social cause. Kudos!