Honors Program Coordinator/Professor Chuck Whitchurch gave his Honors Composition class an assignment to write an environmental essay. Student Kirsten Travis chose the topic of light pollution, which is the absence of a night sky, affecting humans as well as animals. Her essay, “Take Back the Stars: Light Pollution and a Resolution,” was presented at the seventh
annual community college research conference in March, held at UCI by the Honors Transfer Council of California. Kirsten came away with the $800 HTCC Director’s Scholarship—the top state award for outstanding research and writing.
We asked Kirsten why she had picked this topic. She said she was sitting in her father’s car listening to her father and his friend talking about light pollution and the re-lamping of the City of San Diego. Kirsten, like most of us, really never knew about light pollution. San Diego, along with other US cities and cities around the world, are taking measures to not send light upward, which causes us not to see the stars. After researching the subject, Kirsten explained in her essay that excessive night lighting confuse the natural rhythms of the body, impairing the hormonal functioning and sleep of people suffering from Circadian Rhythm Disorder. Some animals are also confused by bright lights and die unnecessarily.
Kirsten was asked how she felt about winning this award, and she said she was shocked “because English is not my best subject.” (Kirsten is a math major) It’s been one month since she won the award, so she was asked how she feels about it today. She replied, “It’s cool.”
