Football Footprint - Scientifc Sample


With more than 72,000 seats in Spartan Stadium, it was clear to MSU students determining the environmental impact of a football game that they would have to work with a sample, and then apply it to the entire stadium. Fred Fico, a professor who teaches quantitative research and surveying methods at the MSU School of Journalism, helped determine how to draw the sample. Students researched the number of rows in each section, the number of seats in the section and the number of seats in a row. They wanted to compare the litter load for student, Stadium Club- the seats for big football boosters- and general seating. The upper bowl contains 56,000 seats and the lower bowl contains 16,000 seats. To make the task manageable, they sampled 400 seats both in the upper and in the lower sections.	Students gathered, sorted and measured garbage after an MSU football game. Photo by Mary Zumbrunnen.
In the lower bowl, the student seating was heavily sampled because those seats are most prevalent there. Another reason was to find out if the students were messier than other fans. The breakdown of seats sampled was as follows:
Lower Bowl: Upper Deck: General: 120 General: 260 Student: 200 Student: 140 Club: 80 The number of rows sampled was based on the percentage that the section covered in comparison with the total sample. A random sample was done by asking five people to choose numbers based on sample size. The numbers that the person chose corresponded with specific rows that were sampled. For example, one meant row A, two was row B, and three was row C. This determined which rows would be sampled. On Nov. 6 th , the students collected trash from the sample areas immediately following the MSU-OSU football game.	The stadium is littered with garbage as fans leave without cleaning up after an MSU football game. Photo by Patty Mallett.
The class organized the rubbish to determine how much trash had accumulated from each section, and how much of each item was found. Using 30-gallon trash cans, the students sorted the trash as follows: Plastic Water Bottles Plastic Souvenir and Lemon Chill Cups Foam Cups and Food Containers Cardboard/Combo Trays Paper (Compostable/Recyclable) Other- Trash	Students sorted trash by category into 30-gallon trash cans. Photo by Mary Zumbrunnen.
The volume of trash was measured with the 30- gallon cans. The information was used to determine which sections were the messiest in comparison to each other and in proportion to the number of seats they contained. In addition, the students exposed just how much of the collected trash was recyclable or compostable. Forum: What do you think?