Apparently student groups can do a lot with a little.

Last fall, the Associated Students of the University of Utah allocated $500 for Terra Firma’s Earth Day celebration?much less than the student environmental group had hoped.

Terra Firma is one of the most highly funded clubs on campus. Initially, it went to the most obvious source, ASUU, to get funding for the event on top of its regular club funding. But student government balked at the prospect of giving one group so much.

Regardless, Terra Firma found alternate ways to continue bringing its celebration to the U.

By holding fundraisers, soliciting donations and re distributing its internal funds, Terra Firma was able to pull together the resources for a major campus event.

The plans include nine bands, booths with local organizations, films and presentations by author Terry Tempest Williams and Mayor Rocky Anderson. Both speakers, the bands and others donated their time to Terra Firma’s celebration.

The group organized a successful fund-raising dinner with Sage’s Cafe, which helped pay for a significant chunk of the costs. The group also re allocated ASUU funds it had already received for other expenses to support Earth Day.

Though the celebration is primarily geared towards the campus community, organizers also hope to reach the community at large in a valley where Earth Day celebrations are scant.

By putting these plans together Terra Firma has fulfilled its role as a student organization funded with student money. Other student funded entities, particularly those with more resources to begin with, could learn from its example.

Instead of turning its ASUU funding inward, only to serve its membership, Terra Firma is reaching out?an effort not seen often among student clubs.

Though past Terra Firma campaigns may have irked some, we should recognize the significance of its attempt to involve the campus as a whole. Perhaps if more organizations were to take this approach, apathy would not be a buzzword for this campus.