Yes, I am tired of hearing about the insert mess all over the floor. And I'm even more tired of stepping on them. But let's think for a while. What if there were no inserts? Then there would be no mess on the floor, no inserts filling up our recycling bins (which might as well not be there since Penn State does not buy recycled paper anyway), and our trees that are necessary for breathing would not be chopped down.

Yes, inserts are a waste of paper and they do ruin the environment globally and locally. HUB and Willard Building are part of our student environment here on campus. Globally, if we did not have inserts then we would not be contributing to the mass clear cut of trees locally, in the Allegheny National Forest and in other important parts of the world. The Collegian, the companies, nor most of the public know exactly where the paper comes from for inserts. How do you know that every fiber in the inserts are taken from trees grown on farm land? And suppose they were grown on a farm ... we don't grow tomatoes to throw all over the floor. Who's to say that only a small percentage of the trees are taken from a tree farm just so that they can tell you that they are? And who's to say that taking a tree from a tree farm is any better than from a virgin forest. It is not! The loss of the biodiversity of tree species and wildlife from what was once virgin forest but is now a tree farm can be detrimental to our planet.

Inserts also consume enormous amount of energy while trees are cut and processed into paper, while they are printed, shipped, stored, stuffed, cleaned up by the Office of Physical Plant and others, and recycled. It costs the University a lot of money to pay OPP for extra cleanup on insert days. Do you think that is all just free? No, it is taking away energy and money that could have been used for more productive means; such as feeding our nation. Who needs this JUNK that inserts sell anyway?

The companies don't care about money or OUR environment. Their revenue is so large that $5,000 is not even going to be seen in their budget. Furthermore, if they do lose money on inserts, then they just write it off as a tax loss.

This brings us to the Collegian. First, how do you know that 9,000 students take home inserts? Second, of course the Collegian is making money off the inserts. Inserts cost more than a full-page ad. According to Danielle Gray,"That (money) is not the sole reason we run inserts." Why else do you run them? Do you like to see them on the floor? Do you like advertising and supporting Pepsico Inc. (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, etc.) after you agreed to supporting the boycott of Pepsico products because of Burma? Yes, I think you should stop printing Pizza Hut and Taco Bell advertisements if you want to support the boycott of Pepsico in Burma. From what I hear, your Taco Bell advertisement is getting the most responses. Why don't you learn from this and realize that a printed ad gets more responses than an insert.

I think there is one solution to this insert problem. Better recycling is just a temporary sweep under the carpet. To alleviate the problem, the Collegian has to not offer inserts as a form of advertising in their (our) paper when the contracts come up in August. Is this not a student paper? Is this not a paper run by students? I do not see how you as students can be happy with a paper that does what they want and not what you, the readers of the paper, want. Stop having large companies run your life and make your own decisions. IT IS UP TO YOU! You have the power to make your own decisions on soft drink, food or form of advertising on campus. Stand up and say, "NO MORE INSERTS, PLEASE!!!"