Simon Lee                                                                     Approximately  250 Words

Shl5@geneseo.edu

Scientific Writing 105-19

The Greek Tree

By Simon Lee

As an incoming freshman exploring the new campus of SUNY Geneseo, I noticed the wildly painted blue tree in front of Sturges Quad. I later found out during orientation that this was called the Greek Tree because its given a makeover by several Greek organizations on campus. A closer look shows a colorful array of paint chipping on the bed of the tree, ants scurrying from one place to another and cobwebs protected from the harsh elements.

When I visited the tree again for the purposes of this assignment, what caught my eyes this time were not the words “Geneseo’s Got the Goods” or “Welcome New Students” but a hole in the tree. I thought this must the the home for many of the squirrels on campus. Do these squirrels notice that there home gets a new coat of paint every year? Do they care? These were just a few of the questions that went through my mind. This got me to think of how human can interact with nature without being destructive.

To a lot of people this tree represents an a harmless prank. To me this tree is proof that humans can live in harmony with nature. Instead of chopping down this tree that is a home and shelter for many different animals, students of Geneseo came together and made it a tradition to keep this tree painted colorfully. This represents the first step to preserving nature for years to come.