UNIVERSITI Sains Malaysia will ensure that 90% of its activities and materials used throughout its convocation expo(ConvEx 2008) will be in keeping with sustainable development.
For a start, cloth banners were used instead of the usual polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ones during its pre-launching ceremony at Queensbay Mall in Bayan Lepas yesterday.
Expo director T. Ramanathan said the organisers were also giving away practical souvenirs such as fruit baskets and flasks to VIPs instead of pewter plaques.
“Plastics are discouraged while polystyrene including white coffins (polystyrene food containers) are prohibited in our activities and expo stalls.
Get set: The bicycle convoy waiting for Prof Ahmad Shukri to sound the horn outside the mall.“This is to bring the issue of global warming to the minds and hearts of the public. It’s a small gesture but the bigger message is that everyone can take small steps to stop and even reverse global warming,” he said at the ceremony.
Despite the heavy drizzle, a convoy of 40 undergraduates later cycled from the mall to the Tesco Extra hypermarket in Sungai Dua in a move to promote healthy living.
Acting vice-chancellor Prof Ahmad Shukri Mustapa Kamal, who opened the event, said more than 6,000 students would be graduating at the university’s 38th convocation from Aug 14 to Aug 17.
“ConvEx is one of the activi-ties for the graduates to share with their families and friends.
“It also provides a platform for students to showcase the university to the public through the various activities held,” he said in his speech.
He urged the audience to embrace ideal practices such as walking, cycling, bringing home-cooked food to the office and car-pooling.
Among the activities to be carried out during the expo from Aug 13 to Aug 17 at the USM campus in Penang are go-cart sports, film premieres and a musical with a sustainable development theme.
The Star is among the official press sponsors.
Konsep "Universiti Di Dalam Taman" yang diadunkan oleh USM ini menunjukkan hubungan akrab di antara peranan dan fungsinya sebagai institusi pengajian tinggi dalam persekitaran taman yang segar. Unsur flora, fauna, air dan ciptaan-ciptaan lain merupakan hubungan yang dinamik dalam penerokaan kehidupan selanjutnya. Konsep ini mengajak kita untuk mengekalkan kehijauan kampus sebagai sebahagian daripada usaha membangunkan dunia intelek. Kita perlu semarakkan semangat dan amalan dalam menjaga persekitaran kampus, malah terus menyayangi dan menghargai alam semula jadi dan ekologi yang dianugerahkan Tuhan di hati dan pemikiran pada setiap warga kampus.
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