From sit-in to SEED

I am hugely impressed with the involvement of the current generation of college students in sustainability and environmental initiatives. Students have always espoused causes, of course; itÔÇÖs part of the job description, but while my generation staged marches and sit-ins to protest against anything we thought was unfair, from the Viet Nam War to Civil Rights to the cost of food on the campus, todayÔÇÖs college students are getting their hands dirty to make the world a better place, starting with their own back yard.  In one of our two green business features this month (Best behavior, p8 - honestly, I couldnÔÇÖt leave either of them out), we find that The University of Utah has a student group called SEED (Sustainable Environments and Ecological Design). After having a request for an organic vegetable garden refused, the group campaigned for the introduction of a full-time sustainability officer, which the college now has. ┬á┬á Colorado College (Green students, p12) has seen ÔÇ£greenÔÇØ student organizations springing up all over campus, and has formed a sustainability council comprised of students, faculty, administrative staff and trustees, to coordinate their efforts. When there was resistance to a new performing arts building being LEED certified because of the cost, students circulated a petition and the trustees finally approved a budget for it. At Central Washington University (p68), the focus is on energy, to reduce the universityÔÇÖs carbon footprint. Again, students are represented on the committee that is developing the plan. ┬á┬á George Eckhardt, assistant director of facilities services at Colorado College, is also impressed by student involvement. ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖre more advanced than the previous generation of students,ÔÇØ he says, ÔÇ£and soon theyÔÇÖll be dealing with various bureaucracies and corporate budgets in the outside world.ÔÇØ ┬á┬á Businesses looking to recruit future graduates will find them much more environmentally aware, and likely to make choices about who to work for based on their prospective employerÔÇÖs green credentials. Make sure youÔÇÖre ready with the answers.  ┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á