2008 Woodie Awards
The grass at UMass: An issue that cannot be 'ducked'
Lauren Rockoff, Collegian columnist
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: Editorial / Opinion
Ducks can't read. And a lot of college students don't bother to either. When walking across campus with friends, searching for the perfect place for a game of ultimate frisbee, soccer or muggle quidditch, little yellow signs are hardly on our radar. But perhaps they should be.
RSO's like to hold rallies and other events on the grassy area in front of the Student Union. Students enjoy sitting in the grass there with friends between classes. Some people prefer the squishier, softer feel of the grass beneath their feet over walking on hard concrete, as they head to the People's Market or wherever.
All of these people want to use the grass, and a seemingly silly sign isn't going to stop them. The laws only mandate that areas where pesticide has been applied must be marked with tiny yellow signs on itty-bitty white sticks. But that's clearly not working. If no one is taking the signs seriously, then there's really no point. Their purpose is defeated, and the fact that the University is following EPA and state notification guidelines does not matter if their adherence fails to prevent people (and animals) from coming in contact with potentially-harmful chemicals. Unfortunately, though they may be effective at keeping away tiny critters bent on nibbling crops, or - in the case of UMass lawns - preventing the germination of crab grass seeds. Pesticides are chemicals, and chemicals can have all kinds of effects on ecosystems. The pesticides used on UMass grass are actually pre-emergence crabgrass herbicides. They serve no function except to prevent the growth of unfortunate, dry-looking turf invaders. And as most Americans know, our country is obsessed with good-looking grass. So, the fact that siduron - the most effective type of pre-emergence herbicide - is classified as a "potential ground water contaminant" is ignored. Even if the herbicide is not applied to the immediate area surrounding the campus pond - which it is not - there is the possibility for contamination. And ducks looking for a place to hatch their cute and tiny babies undoubtedly stray into areas that they deem safe, though pesticides may make the safety they imagine impossible. Knowing all of this, UMass landscape services has looked into alternatives to pesticides. Having had a great deal of success with a salt alternative used in the winter - the brown sticky stuff applied to all paved services to increase traction - they hoped to find an another ecologically-friendly option that could end the crabgrass problem without dangerous chemicals. That brown sticky stuff, by the way, is actually a product known as Ice Ban Magic or Ice B'Gone. It is made from a mixture of magnesium chloride and a brewery by-product. The University uses Ice B'Gone in place of salt because after melting the ice, the salt is then washed away into bodies of water. This, in turn, has detrimental effects on plants and animals that live in and around the water.
RSO's like to hold rallies and other events on the grassy area in front of the Student Union. Students enjoy sitting in the grass there with friends between classes. Some people prefer the squishier, softer feel of the grass beneath their feet over walking on hard concrete, as they head to the People's Market or wherever.
All of these people want to use the grass, and a seemingly silly sign isn't going to stop them. The laws only mandate that areas where pesticide has been applied must be marked with tiny yellow signs on itty-bitty white sticks. But that's clearly not working. If no one is taking the signs seriously, then there's really no point. Their purpose is defeated, and the fact that the University is following EPA and state notification guidelines does not matter if their adherence fails to prevent people (and animals) from coming in contact with potentially-harmful chemicals. Unfortunately, though they may be effective at keeping away tiny critters bent on nibbling crops, or - in the case of UMass lawns - preventing the germination of crab grass seeds. Pesticides are chemicals, and chemicals can have all kinds of effects on ecosystems. The pesticides used on UMass grass are actually pre-emergence crabgrass herbicides. They serve no function except to prevent the growth of unfortunate, dry-looking turf invaders. And as most Americans know, our country is obsessed with good-looking grass. So, the fact that siduron - the most effective type of pre-emergence herbicide - is classified as a "potential ground water contaminant" is ignored. Even if the herbicide is not applied to the immediate area surrounding the campus pond - which it is not - there is the possibility for contamination. And ducks looking for a place to hatch their cute and tiny babies undoubtedly stray into areas that they deem safe, though pesticides may make the safety they imagine impossible. Knowing all of this, UMass landscape services has looked into alternatives to pesticides. Having had a great deal of success with a salt alternative used in the winter - the brown sticky stuff applied to all paved services to increase traction - they hoped to find an another ecologically-friendly option that could end the crabgrass problem without dangerous chemicals. That brown sticky stuff, by the way, is actually a product known as Ice Ban Magic or Ice B'Gone. It is made from a mixture of magnesium chloride and a brewery by-product. The University uses Ice B'Gone in place of salt because after melting the ice, the salt is then washed away into bodies of water. This, in turn, has detrimental effects on plants and animals that live in and around the water.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Angela Stasiowski
posted 5/12/08 @ 11:38 PM EST
honestly one of your best.
of course its hard to choose just one!
Ed Cutting
posted 5/13/08 @ 10:31 AM EST
> That brown sticky stuff, by the way, is actually a
> product known as Ice Ban Magic or Ice B'Gone. It
> is made from a mixture of magnesium chloride and
> a brewery by-product. (Continued…)
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