Moving into college can be expensive, and the Office of Sustainability at Illinois State University wants to make it a little easier for students while also helping the environment. Its annual Front-Yard Freecycle event on Thursday offered new and returning students on campus to claim dorm room and apartment must-haves at no charge.
The parking lot of First United Methodist Church was home to mini fridges, dressers, organizers, clothes, televisions and more from noon to 5 p.m.
When the doors opened, students and families alike made a mad dash for the items they wanted. One of them was Malia Bermjo. The senior met her friends in line before the event and she said they gave her specific advice about a futon she wanted.
“I was told, ‘Be a jerk and run,’ so I sprinted as fast as I could straight to this futon,” she said. “Yeah, and I sat down, and I claimed it.”
Bermjo said events like FreeCycle are not new to her; she regularly enjoys protecting the environment by reusing items.
“We can get it a second life and out of a landfill sooner … I like recycling, I thrift all the time, so this is great for me,” she said.
Bermjo said she was planning to search for some new clothes once the crowd settled down.
Other students in line before the event had the cost at top of mind, including Jack O’Toole, a junior.
“It allows for it to be a little bit more affordable, and to not have to buy and consume more stuff at stores,” he said. “It’s a healthy and affordable way to still get the stuff you need for college.”
O’Toole brought his sister, a friend and his aunt, Margaret Mitchell, with him to help lift the mini fridge they were on the hunt for. Mitchell said she was pleased with the event and proud of her nephew for participating.
“This is a nice event. I think it’s wonderful for young people to get a chance to get stuff that they need for their dorms, and I think it’s a wonderful way of giving back, I do,” Mitchell said.
O’Toole said sustainability is important to him and he wants to support ISU’s office as a newcomer on campus.
“100 percent. Even if I don’t have stuff I’m using at the end of my senior year, I would probably go to something like this as well. If there’s a lot more stuff like this, it’s wonderful, wonderful,” he said.
O’Toole and Mitchell waited at the front of the line for two hours before the event began.
Nayeli Wood was joined by her three roommates in line. The junior was keeping her eye out for kitchen utensils and room décor. She also enjoyed the financial burden it lifts from students.
“It’s nice, because we’re all broke here, college students,” Wood said. “I don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get new dishware and stuff if I can just grab it if no one else is using it, so it’s very nice.”
Giannah Boice is a senior. She said when she got an email about the event, she didn’t think twice about not including her roommates in line with her.
She said, “Oh no, I had to share the wealth. This is something everybody needs to know about.”
Boice was searching for a floor lamp and a new rug. She participates in other events from the Office of Sustainability too, like its free fruit and vegetable garden, and enjoys how they bring students together.
“Definitely for the community for college students, because I know they have the Share Shop which is open throughout the week where you can get little things out of there. They do fixing of like clothes, they have the fix it shop if your clothes are ripped or anything,” she said.
The office’s Fix It Friday event offers basic sewing and mending to students to help their clothes last longer.
Office of Sustainability Assistant Director Christine Bruckner said the goal of the event was twofold. She said from the moment students step on campus, they are learning about the university’s missions in becoming sustainable.
“And it starts with move-in, and so we really like to emphasis a cyclical economy where we’re giving and reusing and emphasizing those important facets of sustainability,” she said.
Every May when students move out of the dorms at ISU, the office rounds up collection bins from around campus with items departing students donated before they returned home. The office stores those items in a warehouse over the summer and repairs and cleans them before FreeCycle.
“During move in all these students and any other that are here at ISU have the opportunity to then pick up those items and give them a second life and keep them out of the landfill,” said Bruckner.
Bruckner said the other benefit to students is relieving the financial burden of moving away from home for possibly the first time.
“Within their first moments at ISU, they’re really learning about the environment, but also they’re learning about wellness,” she said. “So, this helps a lot of students who might not be able to afford certain items.”
Bruckner said leftover items are donated to other community organizations, but she noted when all is said and done every year, there is not a lot left behind to get rid of or keep for next time.
