Mixed Media Article Fall, 2006

Paper Chase Student Team Members Cara Dudik and Brook Rhodes produced an article for the campus magazine recounting the Paper Chase project. The original text from the article which ran in this fall's issue of "Mixed Media" is reprinted below.

"Paper Chase 2006: How much paper have you wasted today?"
written by Cara Dudik, layout by Brooke Rhodes
Published in the IADT Student Magazine, Fall 2006, p. 06
Edited by Amanda Havlik
Faculty Advisors, Scott E. Arciniegas, Dan Brown

'The students of VC459, otherwise known as "Designing the Future," as well as their instructor, Merry-Beth Noble, took on a rather large undertaking during the Spring 2006 quarter that required total cooperation among them and sent a positive message to the entire school.  The project, entitled Paper Chase 2006, was a week-long plan of recycling awareness, and its elements could be found throughout the school. 
 
The idea for the project was conceived by Merry-Beth Noble.  Her class often discusses waste and sustainability, and the chance to do something that would not only add to the students' creative backgrounds, but would positively affect the school seemed like a good idea.  In the beginning it started as a multi-group project, but as the class brainstormed it became evident that many of the students shared the same ideas.  It then progressed into becoming a week-long plan of awareness.  The reasoning behind Paper Chase 2006 was to alert the students and staff of IADT of the monumental amounts of paper wasted by all each week. According to Merry-Beth Noble, the underlying message, "is not simply about recycling, but it is about no wasting paper in the first place. Small things like using scratch paper, making double-sided copies and working to not throw away paper carelessly makes a difference when we all try to be a little more careful. We work in an electronic environment, designed to be 'paperless' when actually more paper is used than ever before. We may see the day in our near future where paper becomes scarce or difficult to obtain." The students of Designing the Future the had the task of coming up up with engaging and creative ways to send this message, while interesting the people viewing it.
 
The ideas came like wildfire, and the class finally settled on a key few.  One aspect of the campaign was the "Adopt-A-Paper" segment.  This portion consisted of flyers posted around the entire school that containing prose and images that gave the piece of paper a history, and encouraged the viewer to "adopt," or reuse it.  Installation art pieces were also part of the mix.  On the 4th floor, one could view an installation that very clearly demonstrated waste and lack of recycling.  There were several heavily overfilled and overflowing trash cans situated next to a few completely empty recycling bins.  A television in the background played an animation on a loop asking, "How much paper have you wasted today?" and displayed the Paper Chase 2006 logo.  Another installation on the 5th floor was an ever-evolving piece.  It was created on several bulletin boards, and paper was added every day, culminating in a 3D art piece demonstrating waste.  In addition, there were posters situated on every floor to bring attention to the program, as well as a notice on the student portal, and emails sent out.  The group also created scratch paper bins that were placed near every printer.
 
The students had a lot of fun in creating Paper Chase 2006, even though they also put a substantial amount of time into it.  The program went off without a hitch and garnered lots of attention, though that wasn't too surprising since it was hard to avoid it.  Students were overheard questioning what it was all about and were seen stopping to observe the installations or to read the posters.  The scratch bins began being used within a matter of hours.  Carolyn Ou, program director for VisCom, who gave the class permission to run the project and utilize school grounds for their posters and installations, believed it to be a resounding success.  Many people were touched by the Paper Chase 2006 message and began taking in active role in helping to end waste at our school.  The staff in the registrars office used recycled paper to create their latest bulletin board, and many other members of the staff and students are making an effort to use recycled or used paper whenever possible.
 
There is still one last element to Paper Chase 2006.  Merry-Beth Noble, has entered the entire project into an art show at the Art Institute regarding sustainability.  No word yet on whether the students' project has been accepted, but there are high hopes.  If accepted, the opening of the show will be in the fall.  Merry-Beth Noble and the students of Designing the Future feel that their Paper Chase 2006 project was a wild success "because of all the hard work of the students, and assistance from different departments at school such as the Print Center and Facilities, as well as support from Carolyn Ou, Bill Edwards, and Mark Halroyd. All the students learned how to actually implement ideas and how many different ways a message can be delivered. We hope to continue to receive feedback and find new ways to improve our ideas for future similar campaigns."'