School is back in session and even though the temperature outside is still showing signs of summer, campus activities are in full swing for fall. This past Sunday, the Army ROTC Golden Buffalo Battalion gathered at 5:45 a.m. to perform their first Stadium clean-up of the 2021 football season. The clean-up includes inside the Folsom Stadium stands, the Franklin Field tailgate lot and the perimeter around the Stadium. The CU Athletics department contractually arranged for the ROTC units on campus each fall to conduct the clean-ups after each home football game. Each ROTC unit is assigned two of the six total home games on the schedule. The payment received from this contract with the Army ROTC department goes towards program enrichment and Cadet related events.
The morning started off with the temperature in the upper 60’s / lower 70’s, which made the clean-up a more pleasant experience. Cadets started off weaving through the stands and surrounding areas to manually pick-up all recycling and trash left behind by the football fans.
Three bags were provided to remove the waste items: clear bags were for all bottles and cans; green bags were for all compostable products and food remains, and black trash bags were available to throw away all non-recyclable items (like candy wrappers, plastic bags, hand-wipes, etc.).
Once the Cadets completed the full sweep of the larger items, they were issued brooms and leaf-blowers to remove all of the small remnants which are considered trash. The entire operation typically takes about 4-5 hours.
The Army ROTC Golden Buffalo Battalion would like to thank the CU Athletics department for providing this “fundraising” opportunity.