Car Keys Please

GAMBIER, Ohio (April 21, 2008) Students and employees can take it easy on the environment during Earth Day week by leaving their cars behind.

The Brown Family Environmental Center, KenyonFit, and the Environmental Campus Organization are sponsoring "Park It for the Planet!" for the week of April 20-26. Earth Day is commonly celebrated on April 22.

Students are asked to surrender their car keys for the week. Employees are urged to walk, bicycle, and car pool on those days.

Heather Doherty, environmental center program manager, and volunteers from the Student Affairs Center will pick up keys from students at dinner in Ernst Hall and Gund Dining Hall on April 20 and 21. Keys can also be dropped off at the Earth Fest picnic during the evening of April 22 on the Pierce Hall lawn. "We know it's a lot to ask, but we thought it would really give students an opportunity to make a statement," Doherty said.

The statement comes with a reward: a gift pack that includes a T-shirt, button, bag, Middle Ground milkshake coupon, and a chance to win a bike tune-up from Y-not Cycling and Fitness of Mount Vernon. Keys will be held in the Office of Campus Safety, where they will be available in emergencies. Students may otherwise fetch their keys from the safety office on April 27.

Participating employees may report to the Student Affairs Office between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. during the week to receive various prizes.