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Creating Sustainable Social Change: Student Engagement on Environmental Justice on Campuses
AASHE2011, 1:15 PM, Room 317 Sunday, October 9

Susan Beckett, CU Environmental Center
Sarah Dawn Haynes, CU Environmental Center
Erika Kociolek, AASHE/Duke University
Andrea Zaragoza-Ballesteros, AASHE/ University of Colorado at Boulder/ CU Environmental Center

Susan
Introductions
A series of panelists sharing the ways in which Environmental Justice is addressed on campuses as an opportunity for education, engagement and sustainable change in both the campus community and the surrounding areas. This panel will focus on the importance of student engagement on the matter, which offers the opportunity for a better relationship between the academic institution and the greater community by creating leaders and meaningful relationships for sustainable social change.

The panelists focused on "What Worked?" and "Lessons Learned," using the Environmental Center at Colorado University (Boulder) as a living example.

Sarah Dawn Haynes
Environmental Center History
• Flagship campus: Boulder
• Founded by students 42 years ago
• 9 FT staff, over 100 student employees, 409 student volunteers

Definition of "Environmental Justice:"
"No community should be saddled with more environmental burdens and less environmental benefits than any other." -Majora Carter

Federal definition:
No population, especially the elderly and children, should be forced to shoulder a disproportionate environmental burden.

CU's Progress Points:
• Grad students host environmental justice lectures
• Hired 2 student coordinators, formed after school program
• Student government leaders submitted monthly editorials on environmental justice
• Steering Committee formed (and then later restructured)
• Diversity outreach focused on creating campus alliances
• Community energy connections
• Food and environmental justice week

Andrea Zaragoza-Ballesteros
Steering Committee: What worked?
• Set solid foundation
• Student government representatives shed light on e student government bureaucracy
• Raised awareness among participating students
• Provided a "sounding board" for EJ coordinators with regard to what CU and the greater community need?
• Gave students a voice

Steering Committee: Lessons Learned
• Most members not actively engaged
• Students already overcommitted
• Students from all level needed, new students intimidated
• High turnover and lack of continuation and documentation

After-School Programs: What Worked?
• Legitimized environmental justice through approval from Denver Public Schools
• Working with a recognized organization = good community access
• Developed relationships with students
• Sustainability, justice-centered curricula
• Helped identify students for a "Computers to Youth" project

After-School Programs: Lessons Learned
• Not enough documentation
• Mixed results, some saw it as babysitting
• Difficult to find students that wanted to learn instead of just seeing the program as a "giveaway" with little value.
• No evaluation
• The loss of a key leader with the partner organization meant a loss of credibility in the community.
• School bureaucracy changed, which created new roadblocks.

Community Energy Connections (did Tier 1 Audits): What Worked
• Successful outreach to hundreds of home
• Bilingual student employees and Spanish-speaking population
• Longmont, close proximity to CU
• Credibility through association
• Service learning and skill building opportunity for student employees

Community Energy Connections: Lessons Learned
• Change in staffing, subsequent change in support
• Tiered auditing program changed
• Program often viewed as a handout
• Success was largely dependent on the auditors
• Cultural barriers

Susan

Food and Environmental Justice Week: What Worked
• Spread awareness among students
• Increased interest on topic
• Built community connections with speakers and organizations
• Service projects
• Partnerships on campus

Food and Environmental Justice Week: Lessons Learned
• Students overexposed to events
• Preaching to the choir
• Follow through. The hope had been to create long-term relationships with organizations, but it only happened in a couple of places.
• Only one day of service learning

Big Lessons Learned:
• Training and development is imperative
• From the community, for the community. Better to have the community tell us what they need, rather than other way around.
• Avoid "Band-Aid" projects and "Hero Complex."
• Documentation and continuity

What's Next at CU?
Increase in campus collaborations
• Dennis Small Cultural Center
• Center for Multicultural Affairs
• Volunteer Resource Center
• Institute for Ethical and Civil Engagement
Discussion series and fact campaign
Presentation of CU Diversity Summit
Environmental Justice 101 Training Sessions
Food and Environmental Justice week

Andrea
The CU case is a model of what works, what doesn't.
Stress on continuity.
Project mentality vs change mentality.
Training: train yourself, staff and volunteers
Identify groups you can partner with, both on and off campus

Erika
WORKSHEET
Posted at http://ecenter.Colorado.edu/environmental~justice/links

Q&A
Funding: at CU, funds come from student fees, utility, city, EPA, state agencies
Diversity: there is little diversity at CU
Continuity: now managed by a permanent staff member, mindful of transition, staff accordingly. Introduce old, new people
Evaluation: do a self-evaluation each term

Look for links, additional information on website: http://ecenter.Colorado.edu/environmental~justice/links