A strange thing started to happen at a dorm located in Hotchkiss School, Connecticut. One student on my floor brought all her studying materials; she even brought her comfy cushion, and she began to work on her homework in the hallway. This slowly led to other students leaving their dorm rooms to study in the hallway, too. Why would the students leave their warm rooms to go and study outside on a hard floor Because we need to save energy for the Green Cup Challenge!
The Green Cup Challenge (GCC), organized by Green School Alliance, is a student driven interschool challenge designed to promote energy reduction by measuring electricity usage in each school. It started in 2006 with three independent boarding schools to raise awareness for environmental issues. In 2010, there are 213 schools from all across the United States that are participating in GCC. GCC is not only confined to east coast boarding schools, but GCC includes other international schools and New York City public high schools. The Hotchkiss School has been an active participant in GCC since 2007.
Most importantly, there is an interschool competition by selecting the best school in a region that has used the least amount of energy. To spur excitement and interest, each school invents activities that the students can passionately join. This year, the Hotchkiss students will not only have the inter-dorm competition, but also the students versus faculty competition. The winning dorm will earn glorious food (snacks). The Students for Environmental Action (SEA) made a video depicting the students’ awareness towards green energy and was shown in the auditorium. Thus, the SEA and the fashion club have organized a fashion show using various recyclable materials.
The Green Cup Challenge is used as a way to educate the next generation of global leaders, to be aware of environmental problems and to experience community related issues. This year's GCC started on January 25, and will continue until February 22.
