The facts: The WESA works to educate and spread awareness of sustainability on campus to encourage it in the real world.   Our opinion: Our students promote sustainability and the University supports them; however, we can always improve and grow in our efforts.   With the University’s constant awareness events, recycling and clean-up initiatives and environmental competitions, faculty and students are reducing the university’s carbon footprint and spreading knowledge of the still foreign idea of sustainability to the community.   Countries like Iceland, Switzerland and France are among those in the top ten most sustainable countries for their high ecosystem vitality score. Even American states like California have created methods for increasing their sustainability. N.C. State is slowly working toward raising North Carolina’s position in the sustainability race.   Events like the Think Outside the Brick competition encourage students from all colleges to think about sustainability. Students submit proposals on how to make the University more green, and the best entry is chosen to carry out. These types of program promote thinking and designing in such a way that appeals to environmentally-conscious businesses and organizations.   By creating a mindset to engage sustainability in school, the university is promoting it to go forward and make an impact on the rest of the world. The university provides opportunities, both intentionally and inadvertently, so students should step up and meet them with the challenge.   The Wolfpack Environmental Student Association provides numerous opportunities to get involved in sustainability. Currently, their main project is find which buildings on campus are best suited for photoelectricicty, solar power.   The We Recycle campaign at football games has tremendously improved the amount of landfill waste and littering. The student initiative merely added some recycling barrels and walked around to collect cans of students’ beverage of choice, and this made a huge impact.   While these various projects and events have helped N.C. State grow in their quest for maximum sustainability, they do not meet expectations 100 percent of the way.   There is still litter on campus and at tailgates, people throwing out junk that can be recycled and buildings and residence halls around campus that can reduce their energy consumption. A lot of these issues can be resolved by students lending a hand and the University putting forth a little more effort.   Students can pick up a piece of trash they find as well as dispose of their own waste. They can also find places to get involved, like WESA, or simply start a campaign of their own.   The University can create ways to save energy as well as save money in the long run. This can be done by installing sensor lights in residence halls and areas that usually keep their lights on at all times. This runs up the electric bill while also decreasing our level of sustainability.   Find a way to help and do it. This not only helps us as a University, but will also set an example on carrying the idea of sustainability to the real world. Save today, for a better future.