For years, our organization has been trying to gain clarity and understanding of the use of harmful chemicals on the University of Iowa's campus. These pesticides have been sprayed on our campus for decades with little-to-no warning, transparency, or regard for student and environmental health. In order to cultivate awareness of this behavior, we have asked for reports on pesticide usage, spread the word on social media and the Daily Iowan, and hosted protests on the Pentacrest to demand more clarity and less pesticides on our lawns.

These pesticides, per the 2018 CHEEC pesticide report, have been known to have harmful effects on both humans and biodiversity, including known carcinogens such as neonicotinoid imidacloprid (neonics) and other chemicals like dicambia and 2, 4-D. These chemicals are sprayed with minimal warning to students, using small, barely visible flags on the edges of lawns including the Pentacrest, athletic fields, and even the UI hospitals. 

With all of this being said, we are keeping in mind student health and environmental health as our top priorities. If a total ban on pesticides is not realistic, we at least demand clear warnings and lessened spraying on our lawns if it is to continue. If the city can ban the spray on their parks, the University should have no excuse to continuously put our health, the community's health, and the landscapers' health at risk. Please help us in our fight by signing our petition to ban pesticide use on the University's campus.

Here is a link to the pesticide report: https://cheec.uiowa.edu/sites/cheec.uiowa.edu/files/2018%20UI%20Campus%20Pesticide%20Report.pdf