People poured into the student center ballroom Wednesday evening to celebrate the annual ���,��� an event with games, prizes, and food to teach students about sustainable living and recycling.

The event kicked off this year���s Race to Zero Waste, which the 蹤獲扦 sustainability page describes as ���a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for colleges and universities, where schools reduce institutional waste through minimization efforts such as donating, anaerobic digestion, composting, recycling, and more.���
RecyclePalooza is set up by the Kent Interhall Council. KIC member Shaine Price described the event.
���It���s to promote teaching about sustainable living while teaching people how to recycle, and the importance of recycling,��� Price said. ���This event helped promote those ideas. Going to these fun events, you learn about it in an interactive way, and are more likely to do it and see it.���
Price said this event is about more than the Race to Zero Waste and training the council.
���I think it pushes people to be more aware that recycling is something that needs to be done,��� he said. ���It���s a step in the right direction towards helping our conservation effort as a whole, because this is our only planet.���
Students who attended the event had mixed feelings, though many students had positive words to say about the event. Freshman zoology major Sean Ganey complemented the event���s neon decorations. Sophomore Sammy Stiles and senior Alexis Katzenmeyer, both interior design majors, said they had fun with painting and putt-putt.

However, students also had complaints about the event. Stiles said she thought it would be a little bit more crowded with activities, along with Katzenmeyer, who described the event as ���lackluster.���
Although there were some mixed feelings among the student body, many of the people who helped run the event considered it a success, including Joe Driscoll, the economic representative of Olson Hall.
���I think people are having a lot of fun ��� the mini golf is a big hit,��� he said. ���Honestly, I wasn���t expecting this many people. I���m really happy with how many showed up.���
Quintin Page is a reporter. Contact Quintin at qpage@kent.edu.