Chris Melillo

Residents of the Atlantic City Campus may have noticed regular congregations of students taking to the beach every weekend. With the spring weather rolling through, Love Blue Stockton has resumed their weekly beach clean-ups on the AC campus.

This past Saturday the 26^th, stormy weather cleared up just in time for Love Blue to host one of their regular beach clean-ups. Popular among the Fraternity and Sorority Life Community, Love Blue Clean-ups draw a crowd of students to the campus. Present at this past weekend’s event was Phi Mu Delta, Delta Delta Delta, Phi Delta Theta, and the newest fraternity on our campus, Alpha Sigma Phi. While not only attended by the FSL community, the group’s events have taken on a role as a tool to unite these organizations in the name of service.

“The mission of Love Blue is to conserve our oceans through organized beach cleanups and community outreach efforts,” Nick Olsen, Love Blue President, told The Argo. He went on to explain how the chapter was able to take 67 pounds of trash off the beach at this last clean-up. 

Aside from the community service aspect of Love Blue’s events, it is also important to note that with each clean-up, the group presents the campus with an opportunity for service-oriented students to network. Some FSL organizations even see Love Blue clean-ups as social events, where they get to spend time with other like-minded organizations. Concluding this weekend’s event, Love Blue members also provided beachgoers with an educational talk on how to properly dispose of the collected trash.

Olsen further outlined how students can get involved in the group’s efforts. To get involved, he noted that students should join the club on Osprey Hub, where they can be up to date on club meetings, events, and clean-ups. From there, he explained how there are opportunities for students to grow with the organization and take up positions of leadership. Other campus groups are encouraged to reach out to partner with Love Blue as well.

“The most fulfilling part about being in Love Blue for me is probably seeing how many people come up to support our cause every week we see familiar faces but we also see kind of different ones and we love working with different organizations,” explained Gianna Schiattarella, Community outreach chair for the organization. In conclusion, she noted, “Community service is such a feel-good activity, and we leave the beach 67 pounds, 72 pounds, 88 pounds, 90 pounds cleaner than when we found it. We believe our work not only makes a difference in our community but our oceans as well.”

With its growing momentum, Love Blue is changing how Stockton Students are serving and engaging with our precious beaches. As the weather gets warmer, the momentum will continue to rise, and Love Blue will continue to invite students to their planned events. To learn more about the group, and be a part of the blue movement, be sure to visit their OspreyHub page, or follow their Instagram page (@LoveBlueStockton).