Valerie Ettenhofer
Staff Writer

Fort Steilacoom will be hosting Annie Leonard, the author of consumerism cautionary tale “The Story of Stuff” next month. Leonard’s book and its companion video question the effects that massive materialism has on the economy, environment, and culture of the United States.

Student government members who are organizing the speaking engagement are excited about the event, especially considering that this is the first time they’ve had the opportunity allowed by an Artists and Speakers Series budget in many years.

The activities board and other student organizations throughout the year put on several speaking events, but student government went all-in, choosing a single speaker that they think will be engaging and interesting to students.

In years past, the Artists and Speakers Series budget had been supported by the Pierce College bookstore, but when it could no longer offer its assistance, the program disappeared. This is the first year in recent history that the Services and Activities committee has allocated money for this purpose.

The funding, which totals $20,000, was requested by Director of Student Programs Cameron Cox, who shares that, “The S&A committee [is] considering refunding it this year but they haven’t made a final decision.”

Most if not all the Artists and Speakers Series budget will go into making Leonard’s appearance as relevant and appealing to the student body as possible. This is one of several events put together by student government throughout the year, and is set to include catering, signed books at a greatly reduced price, and possibly a giveaway.

“[Leonard’s] book focuses on materialism and environmentalism,” Cox explained. “The students chose her as the speaker because of the Common Book, “The Nature Principle.” Over at Puyallup, they’re bringing in the author of “The Nature Principle” the week before, so student government wanted to support that initiative.”