Usually, church bells last less than a minute, but the morning of Oct. 25, the bells lasted much longer than usual when St. Paul’s Memorial Episcopal Church rang its bell 350 times to sound an alarm for the climate change crisis.

The number 350 holds significance because leading climate scientists claim that 350 is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide measured in parts per million.

“Right now, the levels of carbon dioxide are almost 390 ppm so it’s going to require a lot of work to get us back down to 350 ppm,” event organizer Gwynn Crichton said, who also works for the Nature Conservancy in Virginia.

When more carbon is emitted, the greenhouse effect intensifies, which leads to glacier melting and oceans warming, she said. Emission of carbon dioxide is mostly a result of deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal.

Not just one person alone rang the bell 350 times that Sunday, however. Many of the more than 100 participants quietly walked into the church in single file, rang the bell by tugging on the rope a couple of times, and then exited through another door, said Whitney Newton, an Urban and Environmental Planning graduate student and participant in the event. She was asked to count to see that the bell was rung 350 times.

After the participants rang the bell, they wrote letters to local politicians and congressmen at letter-writing stations in the church.

This event was tied to the organization 350.org’s goal of having an International Day of Climate Action, the focus of which is to raise the attention of world leaders attending the United Nations’ climate change conference in December, Crichton stated.

Although 350.org set Oct. 24 as the International Day of Climate Action, St. Paul’s Church hosted its bell-ringing event the following day to avoid parking difficulties because of the University’s Oct. 24 home football game.

St. Paul’s Church was not the only church involved in the event. Crichton noted that there were more than 4,200 events — including rallies and demonstrations — in at least 170 countries around the world.

The Episcopal Church is known for becoming heavily involved in the important political issues of the moment.

“Our presiding bishop, Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, has testified in Congress on global warming issues and she’s also a scientist,” Reverend James Richardson said. “Her first career was as an oceanographer before she became a priest.”

The members of St. Paul’s Church also are accustomed to fighting for environmental issues.

“I have a congregation that’s very aware of environmental issues and environmental organizations,” said Richardson, who noted that the church also has a committee called the Green Team, the goal of which is to raise environmental awareness. The Green Team at St. Paul’s is part of Virginia Interfaith Power & Light. VIPL is a nonprofit, interfaith organization dedicated to promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation in response to global climate change, Crichton said.

“Their goal is to help faith communities recognize and fulfill their duties as stewards of creation,” she said.

One component of the event was “Stations of the Earth.” Wall murals, placed in the main sanctuary, described the climate crisis and actions people can take to combat it. There also were many pictures highlighting the different organizations around the world that promote environmental awareness, Crichton said. The decor included pictures of President Obama, in reference to his attendance at the upcoming climate talks in December, and a text explaining the importance of environmental awareness. Illustrations of the various, potentially dramatic effects of climate change also covered the walls.

Crichton stressed the importance of taking responsibility for our own individual carbon footprint.

“We need to try everything from using public transportation, riding our bike, changing our light bulbs, ensuring our houses are more energy efficient and taking the time to reach out to our political leaders and tell them that we have got to make some changes,” Crichton said.

As a first-year student, one of my favorite forms of entertainment was spotting stragglers head back to their dorm rooms Saturday, Sunday and even occasionally Friday mornings. Observing those slow-paced walk-of-shamers really is the pinnacle of people watching. Even those that went to parties requiring no special attire are distinguishable by their hunched shoulders and squinty-eyed faces as they shuffle back to their buildings.

By far the best opportunities to watch for walks of shame though are around the times of year when themed parties are the most prevalent. The morning after St. Patrick’s Day especially, is a very funny time to take a stroll down Rugby Road and watch for leftovers. It is pretty hard for anyone making his or her way back on that morning to hide the garish green attire they still have on. While St. Patrick’s Day has its moments, Halloween, however, is definitely the undisputed champion of the funniest walks of shame. I am sure that if you peeked out the window anytime before noon this past weekend you saw at least one person trudging back in their vampire cape or carrying their fairy wings from the night before.

Nevertheless, while I admit to deriving more than a little enjoyment from spotting these people, I am certainly not advocating the walk of shame. Sure it’s funny when someone in a toga has to scrape their way past a morning admissions tour, but it is a tad tacky on the part of the pseudo-Roman caught doing it. After all, we are more than halfway through the semester now. At this point, even all you first-year students should have picked up a few tricks to avoid such sticky situations. But, just in case you haven’t, here are some good rules of thumb for beginners and a little refresher course for older readers.

The most basic way to avoid the walk of shame is simple: When the party is over, go home. Making it back to your own abode should never be difficult if you are sticking to the three cardinal rules of going out. First, never go anywhere by yourself. You’d be surprised how much a difference having someone to walk home with makes. It is not only safer for everyone involved, but it heightens your motivation if the fate of another person is entangled in your decision to stay or go. Second, always have your cell phone charged and on you. This too is a primary safety rule, but it also increases your means of finding ways home and tracking down buddies to walk back with you. The third rule then comes in close conjunction with the second, within your cell phone you should have a repertoire of resources to help get you home in the event that you cannot do it yourself. I mean, come on people, they give you the numbers of Safe Ride and Yellow Cab at orientation for a reason.

If, however, luck is not in your favor and you find yourself stuck somewhere other than your official place of residence, then it is time to throw the rules out the window and just do damage control. First and foremost remember: It is only a walk of shame if someone sees you doing it. Make an effort to wake up before the average college student (usually any time before 9 a.m.) and you are in the clear to slip back to your room and remove your Tinkerbell costume unnoticed. When this is not an option though, there is only one thing you can do. Clean yourself up, make your outfit look as normal as possible and act natural when you walk home. This final option should always be a last resort because it isn’t totally effective at saving face. Be that as it may, if this is the only viable option left to you, you might as well just get it over with because it probably isn’t an especially proud morning for you anyway.

So now that you’ve had a review in the essentials of avoiding shame, hopefully you will never find yourself sneaking past prospective students in your 80s apparel from the previous night. Let’s face it — we call it the walk of shame for a reason. No matter how much our culture might glorify those people who are able to party all night, we never look admiringly upon the ones who couldn’t make it back before morning. So take a leaf out the book of that vampire you dressed up as: Run wild during the night, but always be home before the sun rises.

Katie’s column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at k.mcnally@cavalierdaily.com.

Some Albemarle County voters will be able to cast their ballots at Alumni Hall, among other locations. Photo by Mallory Noe-Payne.

Virginian voters will elect the state’s 71st governor today. After months of campaigning, gubernatorial candidates Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds finished their campaigns with whirlwind state tours yesterday.

“We’re touching every corner of the commonwealth today,” McDonnell’s Press Secretary Crystal Cameron said yesterday. The campaign toured seven regions in Virginia, including Charlottesville, and also rallied neighbors and canvassed until 9 p.m.

Creigh Deeds has been “out on the stump” all across the state discussing his plans for jobs, education and economic development in an effort to win the support of undecided voters, Deeds’ Communications Director Mike Gehrke said.

He said at this point the main focus of the campaign is getting voters to the polls. They are “trying to find Democratic voters to get them motivated, get them excited and make sure they know when and where to vote,” he said.

For local voters, there are several polling places on or near Grounds. Albemarle County poll locations include the Miller Center and University Hall, which Deputy Registrar for Albemarle County Lauren Eddy said are the most popular among University students. There also are county polling locations at Albemarle High School, St. Anne’s-Belfied Lower School, Jack Jouett Middle School and the Berean Baptist Church, she said.

Though most students are in county precincts, Charlottesville General Registrar Sheri Iachetta said, students registered in the city of Charlottesville may be assigned to polls at Alumni Hall or Venable School on 14th Street, as well as the Carter Family Life Center on Cherry Avenue.

There are 67,212 voters registered in Albemarle County, and a 50 to 51 percent turnout is expected, Eddy said. She characterized this as “not very high,” which “[is] about normal for a governor’s race. Nothing like [the turnout] we saw last year.” By contrast, Albemarle County had a 75.71 percent turnout rate in 2008.

Charlottesville has 27,516 registered voters, Iachetta said, adding that a turnout of about 40 percent is expected.

Both registrars said that polls will be busiest in the early morning, before people go to work, around lunchtime and after people get off from work. The best times to go, therefore, are mid-morning and mid-afternoon, they said.

Voters will be required to show identification, Iachetta said. Albemarle County voters will vote electronically, using the same machines from the past few years, Iachetta said, while Charlottesville voters can choose between a paper ballot and an electronic ballot at the polls, Eddy said. Iachetta added that this year, officials will have electronic poll books, which may make lines move more quickly.

Isaac Wood, assistant communications director at the University’s Center for Politics and a former Cavalier Daily opinion columnist, said the economy will be the most important issue for local and student voters. “Everyone is certainly aware of the economy and being squeezed in one way or another,” he said. “Most Virginia [voters will] be focused on that when they go to the polls.”

Similarly, Cameron said that jobs will be the most important issue in the election, for which she said McDonnell offers the only “forward-thinking” plan, while Gehrke emphasized Deeds’ plan to help students afford higher education.

Polls are currently showing a double-digit lead for McDonnell, which has been steadily growing for about the past month, Wood said.

“If the polls are correct and turnout follows the model that everyone’s expecting, then it would certainly be a good day for Republicans Tuesday night,” he said.

Wood said turnout is the Deeds campaign’s only hope to avoid that outcome.

“The Deeds turnout has to try to get as many Obama voters from 2008 to show up at the polls again this year,” he said, “and that’s easier said than done when there were so many first-time voters and voters who are parts of groups which typically don’t vote in non-presidential years.”

Both campaigns are concerned the poll results will cause lower voter turnout, Wood said. “[McDonnell] doesn’t want his voters to become complacent and think that their votes aren’t needed,” he said, while “Deeds obviously has to worry about his supporters not showing up for an election that they fear could be a blowout.”

Wood predicted overall there will be a much lower turnout for 2009 than 2008, expecting about 2.5 million or fewer voters compared to 3.7 million statewide last year. “I think a low turnout election will benefit Bob McDonnell and I think Creigh Deeds’ only hope is that turnout surpasses the current estimates,” he said.