Students living in dormitories might have had a bit more trouble walking down the halls at night this month, but it was all in the name of the environment.
On-campus residences have been switching off their lights and making other energy-saving efforts as part of Tufts' annual Do it in the Dark competition.
The dorm that lowers its energy consumption the most over the month of October relative to its usage during September will win a pizza party, according to Tufts Environmental Consciousness Outreach (ECO) officer Sarah Yoss, a junior. ECO and the Office of Sustainability sponsor the competition.
"We look at which hall made the greatest reduction in spent energy, taking into account hall size," Yoss said.
Do it in the Dark began in 2000 as an initiative to promote environmental awareness and energy conservation.
ECO members promote the event by passing out stickers, handing out fliers with tips on how to save energy and giving away glow-in-the-dark condoms. "People ask why we have them," ECO member Lizzie DeWan said of the condoms. "[They are] so we can do it in the dark," she said jokingly.
The rules are simple. The dorm that reduces its energy use the most earns a free pizza party and extra raffle tickets for eco-friendly prizes at ClimateFest, an environmental-awareness event marking the end of Do it in the Dark.
Student organizations such as the a capella group sQ! and B.E.A.T.S., Tufts' percussion ensemble, have been invited to perform at ClimateFest, which will be held on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. in Hotung Café. Guest speakers such as William Moomaw, a professor of international environmental policy at the Fletcher School, have also been invited to lecture on environmental issues.
DeWan, a senior, explained that reducing energy consumption can be easy.
"The simplest advice I can give is turn off everything you can," she said. "Flip off your lights and shut off your computer."
The Office of Sustainability, along with the Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE), promotes energy conservation by allowing students to exchange their energy-inefficient incandescent bulbs for fluorescent bulbs that last up to 10 times longer. "Students can bring incandescent bulbs to the Tufts Institute of the Environment office in the basement of Miller Hall next to Oxfam Café in exchange for fluorescent bulbs," TIE Program Coordinator Heather Angstrom said.
Junior Talya Peltzman had only good things to say about Do it in the Dark.
"I love doing it and I love darkness. And [those things] together makes it the best month of my life," she said.
Yoss, of ECO, echoed Peltzman's sentiments about the contest.
"I think it's important because it shows people that you can make little changes and have a big impact," she said.
