Junior Luke Boehne is making a stir on campus with some unusual environmental efforts.

Before "green," there was Luke Boehne.

A distinctive presence on campus, Boehne, a junior, has a penchant for skateboarding, untamed brown curls and an aura of serenity. Though that serenity might be attributed to Boehne's sense of unity with nature, it is more likely the effects of a glowing immune system from his environmentally friendly lifestyle.

As a high school junior in Fort Thomas, Ky., Boehne and best friend Fritzie Stine initiated a series of radical environmentally conscious lifestyle changes that have stayed with him to this day.

"He and I started something that we called Project Detachment, where we stopped relying on disposables," Boehne said. "It was a personal movement to stop being reliant on some of the waste-intensive, Americanized aspects of life."

The project also grew out of their philosophical concerns with conventionality and norms - they were, after all, in high school.

Among their unusual endeavors, Boehne and Stine staged a deodorant and shower fast that eventually became a publicity stunt to promote clean-water awareness. But though their efforts caused a stir with classmates, they did not manage to recruit any peers to sponsor their cause.

"We were two of the more alternative students at the school, in every sense," Boehne said.

Boehne, a cognitive studies major, has since expanded his conservation efforts.

While on a road trip last summer, he stopped in Asheville, N.C. On the fly, he decided to stay for two weeks to work at Mountain Gardens, an organic living center where all food is grown on site or traded for with local gardeners, the water supply comes from mountain streams, disposables and driving are kept to a minimum, and volunteers like Boehne are taught to garden, compost and live organically.

Boehne called the experience "a revelation."

Back on the lavish Vanderbilt campus, his radical lifestyle means sacrifices and criticism.

"People often comment on my deodorant ban in social settings," Boehne said. "When I'm dancing at a party, sometimes someone will ask, ‘Don't you think you could wear deodorant for the sake of other people or for girls?'"

Boehne takes these potentially awkward moments in stride, content that his lifestyle narrows his social circle to those who genuinely appreciate him. (For the record, this reporter thought Boehne smelled fine.)

"Driving is another issue," Boehne said. "It would be easy for me to take my car out more often, but I try to bicycle and skateboard instead. I also exclusively eat leftover food. My friends are constantly trying to treat me to dinner on the town. I tell them that I don't support driving to eat when our resources on campus are abundant, and when I know I already have leftover food in the fridge. My food and driving limitations are socially disruptive and isolate me from some social circles. I end up eating alone a little more and going out to parties less. It isn't ideal, but being consistent now will help me in the future when I'm out of this place and it's a little harder to follow through on my beliefs."

Boehne's devotion to his beliefs has earned him the position of composting and dining representative with the student organization SPEAR, Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Recycling. Boehne oversees a pilot program that composts scraps from food preparations at The Commons Dining Center into fertilizer. Other projects include expanding recycling programs on campus and possibly working with the Visions program to educate freshmen about sustainability.

Boehne sets an example for many of his peers.

"When I lived in a Mayfield house last year, I provided cardboard boxes for recycling - Vanderbilt doesn't provide students with recycling bins," Boehne said. "Now at least half of my former housemates recycle in their dorms."
With his experiences, Boehne hopes to pursue a future career in the nonprofit sector.

"I hope to never work in a corporate-minded setting - and hope to ideally never pay taxes," Boehne said, grinning.

— To contact Jean Son about this story or to share an interesting story of your own, send an e-mail to jean.son@vanderbilt.edu