KMTV, Lincoln, Nebraska — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) student government, the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska (ASUN), declared in a news release on Tuesday that it has unanimous support for a resolution urging the university community to cease balloon releases on campus and during Husker football games.
The resolution’s author and senior Economics, Environmental Studies, and Natural Resource Economics major Kat Woerner said,
“We, the Association of Students at the University of Nebraska, have an ethical responsibility to preserve and shape a world for the next generation of Nebraskans.” “At Nebraska, traditions play a significant role, but no tradition can take precedence over our researchers’ concerns about the growing expense of
In the last two years, ASUN has approved two resolutions. According to the student government, the first resolution was approved in the spring of 2021. In addition, at the spring 2020 election, a majority of UNL’s student body voted in support of changing the balloons during Husker football games.
According to ASUN, the custom dates back to the 1960s and has been a cause of pollution ever since hundreds of balloons land in farms, residences, waterways, and habitats every year, some of which are as far away as New York.
“The damage to wildlife such as turtles, birds, and deer who mistake the balloons for food is why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a statement urging people to stop releasing balloons and release balloons,” the student government expressed worry.
