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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: Tegan Plock
Position (in student organization): Chief Officer of Sustainability
Date survey submitted: July 1, 2009
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Residence Hall Association - Campus EcoReps
Number of active members: 17 (one/residence hall on campus)
Website: http://rha.sc.edu
Date of last meeting: April 7
Frequency of meetings: 2/month
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008: The 2008/2009 school year was the pilot year for the Campus EcoReps program. Each residence hall on campus elected an EcoRep to represent their hall in the Residence Hall Association. The EcoReps in turn helped RHA implement sustainability-related programming in the halls and across campus.
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008: Fall semester got off to a slow start with this program, and only a couple of programs actually took place - the EcoReps helped publicize Sustainability Week in October, and several residence halls organized to have plastic bags exchanged for reusable canvas bags so that the plastic could be recycled. One hall held weekly Gossip Girl-watching events, and the EcoRep used the commercial breaks to play sustainability-Jeopardy with the residents. Spring semester, the EcoReps enlisted the help of their residents to collect the recyclables from each hall so that they could be weighed for USC's pilot year of RecycleMania. They widely publicized the PowerShift09 conference in Washington, D.C., and helped find funding for over 40 students from USC to attend. They also helped organize the campus-wide Do It in the Dark party for Earth Day. Several halls bought reusable waterbottles and gave them away to residents that recycled a certain amount of plastics within a week. Near the end of the year, the EcoReps hosted an Eat REAL Food dinner, catered by a local, organic deli, where residents played Sustainability Jeopardy and learned about how to change eating habits to help the environment. There were also several BYOBowl ice cream socials during finals week.
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please list details for each competition.
#1 - Name of competition: RecycleMania (national competition)
Year initiated: 2009
Frequency of competition: Yearly
Participants: The entire school is encouraged to participate, but this year was the pilot year, so the main competition was between residence halls. The event is organized with help from RHA/EcoReps, Students Advocating a Greener Environment, Student Government, NetImpact, the Sustainability Office, and USC Recycling.
Incentives: Winning residence hall received $1,000 from the RHA Executive Funds to implement the sustainability-related program of their choice.
Goal of competition: Increase recycling, reduce waste. Above all, emphasize the importance of recycling.
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: I don't have the exact figures - contact Hank Sully (hanks@mailbox.sc.edu) for more information.
Lasting effects of competition: The competition required that we improve our entire recycling program in order to handle the increase in recyclables. It got the campus talking about recycling and the other important things that a university campus can do to become more sustainable. Because we focused on the residence halls this year, next year it will be much easier to expand to include more of the campus.
Website: www.recyclemaniacs.org
SUSTAINABILITY IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
3) Does your student government include a specific position or committee dedicated to campus sustainability issues?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please describe: The Executive Cabinet includes a Secretary of Environmental Affairs, who runs the Student Environmental Committee (the presidents of every environmentally-related organization on campus meet every other week to coordinate campaigns and organize campus-wide events like Sustainability Week, Earth Day, and RecycleMania.) The Student Senate also has an environmental committee.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school:
RHA first initiated the Do It in the Dark program for Earth Day 2008, and as it was a huge success, the program was repeated for Earth Day 2009 as well. The EcoRep program is main other program that RHA has initiated on campus. We are currently working with several other organizations on campus to implement a bike-rental program across campus.
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:
Students Advocating a Greener Environment (SAGE): The main environmental student group on campus, SAGE organizes trash pick-ups around campus and in the community, works on issues like campus recycling and composting, and works on state-wide and regional issues in conjunction with community and other university groups. See www.sageusc.org or contact Malia Griggs for more information.
NetImpact: A sustainability group housed within the business school, NetImpact organizes speakers and other events directed at educating students about sustainable business practices. Contact Christine Hauer for more information.
Student Government: The Student Senate has an Environmental Committee, and the Executive Cabinet includes the Secretary of Environmental Affairs, who runs the campus-wide Student Environmental Committee.
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):
The EcoRep program (as it stands right now) is focusing on getting on-campus residents involved in sustainability issues directly on-campus, so it in itself is not affiliated with any regional or national networks. SAGE, however, is - for a full list, please contact Malia Griggs.
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