Michael Foster / The Collegian

Fresno State was caught green handed.

Fresno State went green this month with an energy saving campaign that started in the fall of 2006. Professors Tamyra Pierce, Ph.D., Betsy Hays and Jan Edwards said the campaign has exceeded their expectations, lasting three semesters and possibly more.

“I would look around campus and see things not being recycled … and we were not being good stewards of the earth,â€Â said Edwards, one of the collaborators in the project.

Pierce, Hays and Edwards collaborated with Cindy Teniente-Matson, vice president of administration and chief financial officer, and Dick Smith, plant operations director of utility management at the university, on the campaign.

“The go green trend … started last spring; something was stirred,â€Â said Maira De La O, 22, a mass communication and journalism student who worked on the campaign this fall.

De La O, along with her classmates in the Public Relations Cases and Campaigns class, have been working on the Go Green campaign. Students get hands-on experience in the class. They research, plan and create giveaways for the campaign, and serve as its public face.

“The students took the ball and ran with it,â€Â Edwards said.

The Go Green campaign kicked off at the Fresno State football game on Nov. 3, and continued at the Fresno State basketball games the following Sunday. Students and volunteers gave out free Energy Star light bulbs at both events. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. donated 85,000 light bulbs to this year̢۪s campaign. The first weekend, 20,000 light bulbs were given out to the public.

Students also gave out drawstring bags, highlighters and other items at the Go Green on the Green event Nov. 13 and 14 on campus. Students chose items for the giveaway that had a long shelf life and would be a constant reminder for the owner to reduce use, recycle and conserve.

Fresno State has been moving in a more environmentally friendly direction as of late. The new 1.1 megawatt solar power parking lot opened this semester. The photovoltaic Lot V looks to supply 20 percent of the university̢۪s annual power.

When the conservation campaign started in Pierce̢۪s class in fall of 2006, Hays took the research further by collaborating to create the Turn Off the Lights campaign. Turn Off the Lights encourages students, faculty and staff to turn off lights when leaving empty rooms on campus to help cut energy use.

“You want to do what’s right. You see the numbers; you can see how much one light bulb can save,â€Â said Derek Franks, 23, an artist for the “Get Caught Green Handedâ€Â logo.

According to Edwards, Turn Off the Lights will likely continue as an ongoing campaign for students.

The conservation campaign has had a measureable impact on at least some students.

“It definitely changed me,â€Â De La O said. “Now, if I leave a room, I turn the lights off and the computer and everything … We are the ones who have to take care of the environment for us and for the future of our kids.â€Â