Rolling the quad is a great tradition at Wake Forest, and there's no doubt that many students and alumni love rolling the quad.

However, as was illustrated in the production "From The Ground Up" in the Fall of 2019, rolling the quad is undoubtedly wasteful. Toilet paper is thrown up onto the trees and it's expected by the students to biodegrade. But, toilet paper takes up to 5 weeks to biodegrade when it's buried, and even longer when it is exposed to open air. So, how does the quad miraculously return to its beautiful, toilet paper-free appearance? People have to clean it up. Staff of WFU spend hours picking up the toilet paper piece-by-piece. It's a nuisance to clean up when it's dry outside, and almost impossible if it happens to rain. 

Rolling the quad creates more work for WFU staff, but it creates more problems than just that. Living in the "Wake Forest Bubble," it's easy for us to forget that Winston-Salem is a city plagued by inequality. There are homeless shelters less than 5 miles from campus and people living in poverty all across the city. Instead of wasting rolls upon rolls of toilet paper by throwing them up on the trees, why don't we donate these rolls to those who need them most? Wake Forest winning a game is something to celebrate, and what better way to celebrate than giving back to the community that many of us call our home for 4 years or even longer.

Changing a tradition is hard, and I myself have rolled the quad once or twice. However, we must think about the environmental and community impact that rolling the quad has. Are we going to continue to be wasteful in this display of disgusting extravagance? Or are we going to think about the environment and the city of Winston-Salem.

THIS is why I petition to end rolling the quad as a tradition, and begin donating the toilet paper instead.