Students for Environmental Action respond to Gulf oil spill


Members of the FIU organization have scheduled a series of events at MMC for the week of May 24-28 in order to engage their peers and the community in the cleanup effort.

By Martin Haro ’05

FIU faculty took center stage as they discussed last month’s BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico at a teach-in held May 15 at Biscayne Bay Campus and now it is the students’ turn.

Students for Environmental Action (SEA) at FIU have organized events set to take place in and around Modesto A. Maidique Campus May 24-28, including Buzz on Oil on Tuesday, May 25, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., in the GC Pit.

“We will be giving free buzz cuts to anyone interested and collecting the clippings to make hairbooms, which are essentially nylon panty hose stuffed with hair that will absorb oil along the coastline,” SEA Vice President Jessica Okaty ’09.

Then, on Friday, May 28, SEA will host a Boom-B-Q off campus, where attendants will get together to help assemble the hairbooms. (For the location, contact Okaty at 305-613-0809.)

SEA is mobilizing not only the FIU family but the community at large as well: the organization already has received boxes of damaged or irregular nylons from local nylon distributor We Love Colors for the cause. Home Depot has donated tools and supplies for the assembling of the booms as well. Are barbershops and hair salons are also getting in on the action.

“We currently have about 35 salons and barbershops participating in our efforts,” said Okaty, a master’s in environmental studies student. “Most of them are located near FIU. Basically, they’re sweeping up hair clippings and putting them in a bag. We can also use animal fur collected from pet groomers.

“If everyone could spread the word that would be helpful.”