MOORHEAD , Minn. (KVRR) - Students at MSUM are trying to get people to stop throwing their cigarette butts on the ground.
The week-long campaign began on Monday.
MSUM Wellness Educators have been devoting their time to picking up cigarette butts around campus.
It is a collaboration with the Hendrix Wellness Center and also Physical Plant, which consists of the campus custodians.
"We're not saying stop smoking we're just saying stop polluting the place where students live, work, eat, go to school. You know, it's our campus let's take care of it," says MSUM student Travis Wehrenberg.
Each time a Wellness Educator spots a cigarette, they throw it away in the trash and place a yellow flag in its place instead.
This is to raise awareness that cigarette butts not only pollute the community, but are also harming animals that may ingest them.
"When it comes to animals like squirrels though, those types of animals are indescribable eaters. So like babies they put anything in their mouth whether its food or not, so that can do all sorts of different harms to them cause cigarettes are obviously toxic," says Advertising Campaign Manager Lexi Byler.
Flags are not only helping keep the community aware, but helping keep the campus clean.
Students are also handing out pocket ash trays, for students to dispose of the cigarette ashes.
"We have ashtrays around campus but apparently that's not working because we see so many cigarette butts scattered around still," says Byler.
Students around campus say that they are all for this campaign, being that they are not pleased with the amount of cigarette butts they find around campus.
"I don't mind if people smoke but if they're going to do it I'd like them to throw it away in their designated areas or just keep it off the ground," says MSUM student Devin Oldenburg.
Students will be picking up cigarette butts around campus until Friday.