Phillip Lochbaum / The Collegian
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws club at Fresno State treated communities with their time and service this Halloween weekend.
Two volunteers and NORML club president Idell Tarver met at 8 a.m. Saturday to clean up a section of Highway 168 near the Fowler and Bullard off ramps.
The NORML club has been a sponsor in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Adopt-A-Highway” program for the last year.
“There are many perceptions about our club, or marijuana smokers in general, as being lazy and not contributing anything to our society,” Tarver said.
“The clean up that we do every month has such a drastic effect on the community.”
Tarver has been the president of the Fresno State NORML club since the spring of this year.
The campus organization is often judged because of their stance on marijuana, and the hard work by its members goes unnoticed.
“We as a group would like to have more volunteers for the clean-up events,” Tarver said. “It has been something very rewarding to both our student members and volunteers.”
The three of them picked up everything from cigarette butts to candy wrappers.
“People would be shocked to know how many beer bottles we find by both the on and off ramps,” Tarver said. “It makes us question how many people are abusing alcohol on the road and why nothing is being done to stop it.”
Volunteers are required by the Department of Transportation to wear neon yellow jackets and hardhats. The department also issues the group a safety video that must be shown to new volunteers prior to scoping the sides of highways.
The early morning start time and safety training didn’t have any effect on the eagerness of volunteer Kelly O’Boylan.
O’Boylan is the Information Technology Services liaison for Fresno State’s Health Center and has been volunteering his time in other community programs since the 1990s.
“I really enjoy being a part of these events because I feel better as a human being afterwards,” O’Boylan said. “We can only do so much in the way to change how people dump their trash, but the NORML club is moving in the right direction.”
The club is responsible for a stretch along Highway 168 that looks small, but the terrain can be challenging to work with.
The rain also made clean up conditions harder for the group, but volunteer Ronald Ransom advanced onward to reach the hilltop near the Herndon Avenue on ramp.
“We’re out here every month breaking the stereotype of just being a stoner,” Ransom said. “I just like being able to improve the community because a lot of people don’t take the time.”
The club has adopted the section of Highway 168 for the next five years and will be in charge of maintaining its appearance.
“I’d love to see the clean-up program be carried on even after our five years are over,” Tarver said.
The national organization is non-profit, so it depends mainly on students and volunteers that take pride in giving back to local communities.
“We are out here every month because we choose to help,” Tarver said. “We’re reaching out in a time where the smallest good deed goes a long way.”