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With the publication of the College Sustainability Report Card 2010, more than 1,100 school survey responses from over 300 institutions are now available online. In total, these surveys offer more than 10,000 pages of data collected from colleges and universities during the summer of 2009. To access surveys from other schools, go to the surveys section of the website. To see grades, or to access additional surveys submitted by this school, please click the "Back to Report Card" link at the beginning or end of the survey.
Name: Matthew Schmidt
Position (in student organization): President
Date Survey Submitted:
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Students for Environmental Action (SEA)
Number of active members: 30-40
Website: http://people.brandeis.edu/~sea/ (rarely updated)
Date of last meeting: 4/29/09
Frequency of meetings: Once per week
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
· University bottled water purchasing policy
· Organic and Local food initiatives
· Lobbied Representative Markey to push strong climate action
· Recycling education during switch to single stream recycling system
· Solar Power Purchasing Agreement
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008:
· The University has officially signed onto a bottled water policy calling for the general reduction of bottled water campus wide and the specific removal of bottled water from our main dining facilities. Extra water filling stations were added across campus, and reusable steel water bottles were distributed to the entire campus, incoming freshmen will continue to receive bottles.
· We held a free local and organic food banquet for over 200 people to show people the joys and tastes of local and organic food. This year the banquet was flavored from three areas of the world, NE, South Africa, and India. We also provided free shuttles to local farmer’s markets and farms for students to purchase local and organic foods.
· We started a photo petition campaign in the local Waltham area to lobby our Representative, Rep. Markey, to pursue a progressive clean energy policy. We collected over 200 photo petitions from the local community.
· At the beginning of the year the University switched to a single stream recycling system and we worked throughout the year to educate the campus about the new policy. We collected the entire university’s trash and performed a trash audit looking for recyclables. A large display stretching across half the campus put the realities of our refuse disposal habits in the spotlight. We also worked on educational displays (posters and stickers) across campus. Overall our recycling rate has improved by a small margin from the beginning of the year,
· We worked with our Sustainability Coordinator to begin pursuing a Solar Power Purchasing Agreement. Janna Cohen-Rosenthal can tell you more about the exact progress of the agreement up to this point.
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
[ X ] No - In the past we ran this competition, but Eco-Reps under the Sustainability Coordinator, Janna Cohen-Rosenthal, now run the energy competition.
[ ] Yes. Please list details for each competition.
#1 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
SUSTAINABILITY IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
3) Does your student government include a specific position or committee dedicated to campus sustainability issues?
[ X ] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe:
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school:
5) Please list and briefly describe any other student-run organizations related to campus sustainability at your school, and provide URLs if available (e.g., student groups; student government committees; student-run food co-ops, gardens/farms, bike co-ops) and provide contact information of the student leaders, if possible: The Student Union runs the bicycle cooperative, Deis Bikes. I don’t believe they have a website, but Susan Paykin can provide more information.
Questions 6 is for informational purposes only; your response will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
6) Please list any regional or national networks with which your group is affiliated (e.g., Energy Action Coalition/Campus Climate Challenge, Sierra Student Coalition, a state PIRG, a state student sustainability coalition): We are not affiliated with any specific group but we do send a representative to the larger state wide Massachusetts Powershift group (MAPS).
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