St. Anthony Hall fraternity receives grant to make house environmentally friendly

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misspelled Senior Lydia Marik’s name. The article has been changed to reflect the changes. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

St. Anthony Hall is not all about arts — it also cares about the earth.

The co-ed arts and literary fraternity recently received a grant that will fund renovations of its house on Pittsboro Street to make it more environmentally friendly.

Senior Lydia Marik said she wrote the grant application last year as the co-chairwoman of the house’s sustainability committee.

With the help of two UNC alumni, she asked for an educational-purposed grant from St. Anthony’s national chapter. The money was received this semester.

Marik said the idea of making St. Anthony Hall more environmentally friendly came to her after she spent a year studying in Alaska, where she studied climate change and energy policy.

“This trip inspired me to do something here,” Marik said.
“There are obviously problems that are huge and that affect the entire world, but I think we can all do a little something.”

With St. Anthony’s educational fund, the fraternity will be able to cover the cost of different earth-friendly house products ranging from compact fluorescent light bulbs to a fireplace balloon.

A compost bin was also built in the garden by the house and is already used by the fraternity members.

“I composted some egg shells today, so that’s the first change for me,” said sophomore Martha Miller, a member of the fraternity.

Miller, who has been living in St. Anthony Hall since September, said she thinks the project is great, but that it might take some time for people to get used to living with the changes.

“Right now, not everyone realizes that the pot in the corner of the kitchen is for composting,” Miller said.

The first renovations — insulating the pipes in the house — funded by the grant should start during winter break, Marik said.

Several lectures from different environmental organizations on campus will also be held in the hall as a way to uphold the educational goals of the grant.

Junior Gray Gerald, another member, said he is reluctant about the changes.

“I think this is great, but I think that people forget that industries are responsible for 95 percent of all the defilement of earth,” Gerald said.

“So all this green stuff is like a green wash of those important issues.”

But Marik is confident in the success of the project and is considering applying for more grants.

“This project will give (the fraternity) a new appreciation for the house and the environment the house is situated in,” Marik said.

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