Students from SUNY Oneonta took the on the initiative to remove debris and trash from streets of Oneonta this fall. Organized by the SUNY Oneonta Office of External Affairs and the Center for Social Responsibility and Community, the students went to work during what they coined Community Clean-Up Day in late October.
Five groups of volunteers came together and spread out across the city, covering areas around City Hall, the Youth Center, Maple Street, Spruce Street, and Hartwick College. While clearing nature debris, students also found trash littered around populated areas like parking garages and heavily used sidewalks near Main and Market Streets, which they cleaned up.
Various campus organizations were represented including the Student Association, The Pan-African Student Union, Sigma Omega Epsilon, Beta Chi, and Alpha Phi Omega. In addition to the students helping out on this day, local residents and community members saw the efforts taking place and joined in to help.
Through these activities, SUNY Oneonta students did much more than just clean up trash. They helped to clean up the environment by removing non-biodegradable materials. They formed closer friendships with fellow students. And most importantly, they were able to build relationships with their neighboring communities.
