We just finished up D-Day (a.k.a Dump Day, a.k.a Dump and Run Day) and I really wanted to get this off my chest while it is still fresh on my mind. To all our staff members and volunteers... thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Over the past two days I have personally witnessed sacrifice, dedication, and determination. As a group we have been running around collecting waste from dumpsters, collection tables, private residences, and other nooks / crannies. At times this has been a true test of one's mettle. There have been smells that could wake the Dead. There have been taunts and disapproving stares from community members. There have been cuts; there have been bruises; there have been cramps; and there have been tears. In addressing the group today I said that I was touched. The blood, tears, and sweat shed by this group have not been in vain. We will clean the items collected and we will find them new homes. We will go to shelters and we will go to clinics and we will ...

The Dump & Run is simultaneously one of the most rewarding and disappointing activities that we have on campus. The event centers around campus move out, during which thousands of students flee the campus to have happy and productive summers back home. The problem is that during their time on campus, these students tend to over consume and then find themselves in the precarious position of having to get rid of their excess stuff in a small window of time. Our office therefore organizes the Dump & Run every spring to try to collect as much of this stuff before it is tossed into the garbage. So on the one hand the whole thing is very rewarding. We get to collect thousands of items (totally almost four tonnes last year) and then donate them to about a dozen charities around Ottawa. We get the satisfaction of knowing that we have diverted waste and helped out those in need. On the other hand though, I estimate that we are only able to capture about 20% of all the w...

Photo credit: unknown I realize as September begins and students move into residence and new apartments that this saying is forgotten. The feelings of new beginnings overwhelm us and we decide to rid ourselves of last year’s Ikea furniture (because hey, we are getting the largest store in North America!) and make room for the new. I spent a chunk of this morning pulling “junk” from a dumpster in front of Brooks residence complex with the reward of saving numerous cardboard boxes from the trash along with two mirrors, a shelving unit and a few other assorted goods. My first question/cry of outrage was, “Who in their right mind throws out a perfectly intact full-length mirror?” The response I received from Jon and Brigitte was that students that are moving just don’t know what to do with these things. I already knew this, after seeing the tonnes of material we saved from being tossed (and instead donated to local charities) but, still! I look around my room with a sense of pride- ...