A castle made entirely out of cardboard boxes, a Y made out of soda cans and lots of paint confronted students walking past the Wilkinson Student Center Friday.
Hordes of students stopped by to decorate the castle with pictures and quotes and just relax at the end of the week.
The boxes included quotes and messages such as, “I’m getting married in the morning” and “Call me.” But the cardboard castle was set up to send other messages to students. The Eco Response Club ran the event to encourage students to sign a petition to get recycling offered on off-campus housing.
Kelsey Coons, a sophomore from Spanish Fork, stopped to paint the castle because she had a few free minutes and wanted to do something to unwind.
“It’s fun to see everyone come together in the name of fun,” Coons said. “It doesn’t matter what your (painting) level is.”
Austin Wilkins, a student from Deepwater, Mo., said he thought the castle was “the coolest thing ever.”
“It looked like fun,” Wilkins said. “I’ve been working all week, and it’s nice to take a break.”
Freshmen Kim Billin and Ciara Whimple arrived when the castle had already been built, but they too stopped to join the painting.
“It’s a fun, creative way to spend free time,” Whimple said.
Billin said she also thought letting students paint the castle was a cool idea and that it brought out the importance of recycling.
“We’re hoping that people are going to see the castle,” Codie Walton, a junior and the vice president of Eco Response, said. “They’re going to be drawn in by what’s going on and come and look to see the paint and all the fun things we’re doing here. We’re trying to get people to come in with all the excitement and see what the petition is all about and try to get people interested and excited about recycling.”
Eco Response built a cardboard castle last year and set a world record for the biggest cardboard box castle. Though the record was since broken by another school, the club attempted to win the title back for BYU with 1,566 boxes used.
Walton said this was a way for BYU students to show they care about recycling.
“BYU students want to make change and have an honest desire to help with recycling,” Walton said. “They just need to find a medium to do that. Eco Response provides a way to do that. BYU students want to change the world; that’s why we’re all here.”
