Bio
Brandon Cottrell, Mary Levush, Parker White
Brandon- I have been a beach goer for many years and have experienced first hand how plastic pollution has rapidly evolved. I have participated in a beach cleanup through a school in the Outer Banks. I as well as my other team members have been extensively researching this semester in hopes to help our peers further understand our issue and to help make a change.
Mary- As a political science major, I have closely studied the issue of plastic waste and how it is detrimental to our world environment. In the past, I have taken environmental science courses throughout both my high school and college experience. Considering this, I myself have taken the appropriate steps to combat the issue by engaging in recycling programs, using less plastic, and relying more on reusable materials.
Parker- I have cared about the environment all my life, visiting my grandparents farm a lot in my childhood, and appreciating the beauty of the Appalachian mountains. Litter and pollution harm the environment that means much to me and many others. With a variety of environmental science classes and personal study into this topic, I have chosen to campaign for a greener Earth.
CTZN 410 Statement:
This project is a main product of our CTZN 410 Symposium on the Common Good class. Considering the nature of the course, it allows students to apply their knowledge, skills and perspectives that they have learned throughout their time as Longwood University students. Students utilize these characteristics that have been acquired from their core curriculum, major classes and extracurricular activities and apply this to real world issues.
Issue:
The issue our team is focusing on is the Plastic Waste crisis. Since the 1960’s, the plastic waste issue has been an occurring problem in our world environment that has continued to worsen over time. Considering this, our team is taking on the issue and offering everyday college students at Longwood University factual background on the topic and ways they can make a change.
Why reliable information about plastic pollution is important to the Common good:
We as a society must be able to understand how substantial the ongoing issue of plastic pollution is before we can make a change. We must be educated on how we can make small changes in our lives that will in fact make a huge impact on the environment. Utilizing news literacy strategies such as lateral reading and reviewing multiple sources are just two of the multiple great ways to gain proper knowledge on our issue as well as others alike.