The Environmental Committee’s recent proposal to both Meeting for Worship for Business (MFWFB) and Agenda Committee, which involves the use of environmentally friendly decorations and props for this year’s commencement ceremony, caused much confusion among the student body. MFS WordsWorth spoke to the Environmental Committee clerks in order to provide some clarity for the students on the proposal’s current state.

The proposal looks to make graduation more environmentally friendly by cutting down on the use of non-biodegradable single-use materials like confetti and balloons. According to the official proposal, these items are “easily replaceable with more sustainable versions.”

Unfortunately, after months of planning, the proposal did not reach unity in the January 25, 2023, MFWFB meeting. Environmental Committee co-Clerk Sam DeJoseph ’23 explained that, during MFWFB, they had “less than ten minutes to try and present [the proposal],” and he “[doesn’t] blame the student body because there wasn’t a lot of clarity [on the contents of the proposal].”

Campbell McHale ’23, another of the four Environmental Committee co-Clerks, was the main presenter of the proposal during MFWFB and added to DeJoseph’s sentiments: “People thought that we were trying to just get rid of graduation as we know it, and just celebrate with nothing, which was not the goal at all.” She also explained that during the proposal presentation, “there was a lot of, I wouldn’t say uproar, but kickback [from students].”

Environmental Committee co-Clerk Aidan Short ’23 noted that the reaction was somewhat expected: “It was pretty on par with what I thought was going to happen … but it was a little bit more aggressive than I thought it was going to be.” Short mentioned that he did expect some pushback from students, because “it is … graduation, and it is something that is held dear to people, and you start saying you’re going to take things away or things are going to change, people get very defensive.”

As MFWFB clerk, Daniel Sorokin ’23 explained, unity was “definitely not what we saw [in the meeting].” He clarified what unity truly means and that it can be hard to successfully reach unity due to certain constraints: “Unity should be a place where everyone has a common understanding, [but] what it comes down to is there are time constraints and people who don’t feel comfortable saying no; hopefully in the future we’re going to try and find solutions to these issues.”

“In the week following MFWFB, the Environmental Committee met to try [and] review some of what has happened with the proposal and address some of the questions and concerns,” explained DeJoseph. The meeting focused on clarity for students, faculty, and administration, resulting in a new proposal draft.

Regarding next steps, Short said that the committee is “going to have to bring [the proposal] back [to the committee] and rehash it, [as well as] figure out some ways to bring it back to the community and hopefully get it passed.” Additionally, the Environmental Committee is hoping to speak to administration and “help eliminate some of the confusion [among students],” says DeJoseph.