At one fateful class meeting this April, the Environmental Proctors showed shocking images of masses of chicken tenders, heaps of soggy french fries, and garbage cans filled with congregations of Crazy Burgers. During such an occasion, the Loomis Chaffee E-Proctors denounced our campus’ food waste. They also proposed a challenge in honor of Earth Month: if the entire school cut down food waste by 50 percent, the Dean’s Office promised a whole day off from school.

The student body worked their magic. Friend groups began to turn against each other while calling each other out on their waste. An Instagram account — @lcfoodwaste — was created to cut down and stigmatize not finishing one’s plate.

With almost 150 followers and 14 posts, one would think that food waste on the Island began to decrease. You would be mistaken. In fact, food waste went up by 25 percent. In addition to the utter disappointment and despair that overwhelmed the LC campus, the environment had suffered even more harm at the hands of our student body.

Clearly, a change needs to be made. You can’t waste food that isn’t on your plate in the first place. Simple. So, this raises the question: what foods should we avoid? The answer? Everything.

If all Loomis residents, students, and faculty simply decided to stop eating dining hall food, our campus’s food waste would go down by 100 percent. Therefore, in order to obtain a day off from school, I propose that the campus embark on a two-week long fast from the dining hall. No food, no drink — no nothing. Of course, students could still get their food from other sources such as the bookstore, the Grill, or the beacon of hope: DoorDash. After all, the E-Proctor’s challenge only applies to the dining hall.

Ultimately, taking a two-week long pause from the dining hall will pay off for our community. Even at the cost of selling our wallets and souls to Uber Eats, we as a campus must work together and uphold the common good. Like true Pelicans.