Kappa Sigma helps Adopt-A-Highway

On Jan. 14, an early Saturday morning, Kappa Sigma students participated in Adopt-A-Highway, a community service event that involved cleaning up the freeway near the University Parkway exit.

As drivers know, a lot of trash and miscellaneous items are discarded on the side of the road. Kappa Sigma members believe that the highway should be kept clean because it makes the city of San Bernardino more appealing.

There are advantages to taking part in Adopt-A-Highway.

“It has its benefits because cleaning the highway is just a stepping stone to opening an individual’s eyes, that if we each do our part the world can become a better environment,” said student Calvin Klein.

There are also drawbacks to this community service event.

“People driving on the freeway have no precaution for us when we are cleaning and they pass by too close and too fast,” Klein said.

Removing the trash can decrease the chances of someone getting into an accident because there will not be an obstruction on the road.

Adopt-A-Highway benefits drivers as well as the local community.

“Doing this event saves the city money because they can put the money towards better resources that can improve the community, while volunteers clean the section of Adopt A Highway,” said student Cole Privette.

Adopt-A-Highway is when an organization or business picks out a section where the highway needs to be kept clean.

“It benefits us because we acquire the knowledge of how important the environment is to the world, and how inputting only a couple hours of our free time can really make a change to not just the community but to the air we are breathing now,” Privette said.

Helping the local community means helping CSUSB students.

“I believe this event benefits the college because students are always driving on the lane that is closest to the highway,” Privette said.

All things considered, it raises the chances of an accident when highways have trash flying around obscuring drivers’ attention.

Vehicles are constantly switching lanes, and if there is trash on the roads, that can cause a collision with the car that runs through it. And if a car evades it and another does not see what lies in front of them, then there might be an accident.

Trash that is cleared from even the side of the road is helpful to all drivers because there are less obstacles on the road that might damage the vehicle or cause a flat tire. The space on the side of the freeways are not there as dumping grounds for items that people consider trash.

That space is there so that if an emergency occurs with a person’s vehicle, they are able to pull over to the side to see what the problem is. In the meantime, while the driver speculating what has happened to their vehicle, if it needs a tow, then there would be a sufficient amount of room with no trash impeding the tow-truck.

Adopt-A-Highway plays a vital role for not just the drivers that are from the community but also for all the personnel who drive by the exit.