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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: David Morrison
Position (in student organization): Transportation Committee Chair
Date survey submitted: September 1, 2009
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Student Environmental Action Leaders (SEAL)
Number of active members: 226
Website: No website; Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2233999431&ref=ts
Date of last meeting: August 27, 2009
Frequency of meetings: Once a week
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
1. Earth Week Celebration
2. Sustainability Speakers
3. Partnership with government and environmental organizations
4. Work to implement sustainable transportation plan
5. Campus Workshops
6. Recycling Program in dormitories
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008:
1. A full week of Earth Week programming featuring sustainability and environmental programs was presented around the campus community.
2. Sustainability speakers were featured throughout the academic year.
3. Partnered with SEED Wayne to assist with the creation of urban gardens around campus.
4. Worked with the WSU Housing Department and the Detroit Department of Transportation to place bus schedule racks in the entrance ways to the Freshmen and upper classmen dormitories. Plans are in place to install racks in every housing building on campus.
5. Transportation Committee created the CAT Map concept (Campus Alternative Transportation Map). The idea is to create an online, interactive map of Midtown Detroit (which includes all of WSU Campus) and have all Bus Rack locations, SMART and DDOT bus stop locations, Amtrak and Megabus locations and Greenways plotted out on the map. All of the necessary information to use and schedule your day around these alternate forms of transportation would be easily accessible in one single source – The CAT Map. SEAL shopped the Idea to WSU and WSU awarded SEAL the funding to start building the website. “Construction” begins the 2nd – 3rd week of September of 2009.
6. Provided a Vermicomposting workshop for the campus community.
7. Work with Wayne State to create a recycling program for both freshman dormitories and the upper class dormitory
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.
Wayne State students have participated in sustainability challenges for several years. These activities include:
Engineering students have fielded competitively engineered, alternative vehicles in national competitions since 1970. The Wayne State Hybrid Vehicle team has won first place overall at the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Challenge in Auburn Hills, MI.
Team Ethanol from Wayne State has taken first place overall at the Ethanol Vehicle Challenge.
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 Student Council has joined with Wayne State University in embracing the university’s efforts to move forward a sustainable agenda for the campus.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school:
Listed below are some of the activities SEAL has sponsored:
Recycling
Get Green! EarthWeek Kick-Off Everything is free! (4-6 p.m., Keast Commons-Towers Greenspace)
Get energized and pumped up for EarthWeek! Upbeat music, delicious cookies, fun games, a free tree, volleyball, Frisbee, Do-it-Yourself Silk Screening and more! Pledge your support and receive a free green ribbon to wear proudly throughout EarthWeek!
WSU Planetarium Show (6-7 p.m., Old Main, Basement)
Did you know that Wayne State has its very own planetarium? Come and get an enlightening new perspective on this little green planet we call home. Limited seating is available, so come early!
Future of Recycling for WSU and Detroit (7-9 p.m., Student Center, Room 289)
An introductory screening of the short film "The Story of Stuff" will get you thinking about all of the STUFF that passes through our lives. Next, Detroit's environmental superstar, Sarah Kubik, will present on the state of recycling and waste on campus and in the city of Detroit. Join in on the discussion to help move Wayne State to a more sustainable future! Visit http://www.storyofstuff.com/ for more information on the film.
Transportation
Green Fair and Autoshow (11-2 p.m., Gullen Mall - Rain Location: Student Center, South Commons)
Come check out the latest hybrid technology and learn what various local and national environmental organizations and companies are doing to make Detroit cleaner and greener!
Film: The End of Suburbia (5:30-7:30 p.m., Welcome Center Auditorium)
The End of Suburbia explores the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. An enlightening and interactive discussion will follow. Visit http://www.endofsuburbia.com/ for more information.
Energy
Simply Switch: Compact Flourescent Lightbulb Giveaway! (1-3 p.m., Student Center, South Commons)
Trade in your old energy-sapping incandescent bulbs for some new highly efficient CFLs! Learn why we're doing this program and why you should switch all of the bulbs in your home and at work!
Film: Kilowatt Ours (5-6:30 p.m., Welcome Center Auditorium)
The film that takes viewers on a journey from the coal mines of West Virginia to the solar panel fields of Florida. Discover the consequences of our coal-powered economy and the solutions to America's energy crisis. Visit http://www.kilowattours.org/ for more information.
WSU Energy Conservation Solutions (6:30-8 p.m., Student Center, Hilberry A)
Interact and brainstorm with students from the College of Engineering. Discover their amazing survey findings and learn what you can do to reduce campus' carbon footprint.
Climate Crisis
3rd Annual Campus Tree Planting (1-5 p.m., Forest between Cass and Second) Celebrate Wayne State's commitment to the environment by getting your hands dirty. This year's tree planting will be the biggest yet as we plant over a dozen new trees! Let's work together with Greening of Detroit to make Wayne State a greener and livelier campus!
Film: 11th Hour (7-9 p.m., Student Center, Room 289)
Leonardo DeCaprio's popular new film, 11th Hour examines our relationship with earth from the earliest glimmers of innovation, to the challenges humanity faces in the present, to the possibilities of the future. Visit http://wip.warnerbros.com/11thhour/ for more information.
Green Open Mic Night with Live Bands (9 p.m. -12 am, Koinonia Cafe at Second and Hancock)
One of last years' most popular events, Green Open Mic is back! Begin the night with conversation on sustainability in Detroit, then sit back and relax with a cup of delicious coffee as you enjoy live acts by local musicians, poets and artists.
Sustainability
Sustainability: Closing the Circle (6-8 p.m., Student Center, Hilberry C)
The exciting week comes to a close with this grand finale! We're bringing together representatives from academia, industry, politics, and nonprofits to exchange their unique views and knowledge of sustainability issues in Detroit.
This energetic and enlightening dialogue will continue into the reception which follows at 8 p.m.
SEAL held vermiculture seminars to interested students, organized tours of recycling plants and the Water and Sewage Department of Detroit. Organized a trip to Washington DC to show support for Environmental sustainability policies.
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:
Wayne State Student Urban Planners, Co-chair Erica Raleigh
http://www.clas.wayne.edu/wssup/
Environmental Law Society - (313) 577-3933
Food and Nutrition Club - 313-577-2500
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):
SEED Wayne
Recycle Detroit
Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC)
Urban Watershed Environmental Research Group (UWERG)
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