One of Duke’s mottos, “bleed blue, live green,” is further advancing as Duke’s Environmental Alliance delivers in the form of two new sustainability committees.
Students Taking an Active Role in Sustainability, created by active EA member Kelsey Shaw, a senior, will be a stand-alone product of EA starting this Fall. STARS will have $25,000 to grant to individuals and groups who have an environmental vision they would like to carry out. Another group, the Student Environment Sustainability Committee, is the brainchild of senior Spencer Eldred, Duke Student Government vice president for student affairs. SESC will consult with student groups to help them make their events more environmentally friendly. The goal is to combat students’ environmental inactivity both with money and with advice to make sustainability more accessible, group leaders said.
“There are a lot of people who are very, very motivated... they have great ideas,” said EA co-president Mikael Owunna, a sophomore. “Then there are other people who don’t really care.”
Shaw said that although most Duke students are environmentally conscious, she is concerned that students are not as active as they are well-meaning.
These two new committees will aim to spark more student interest in sustainability and encourage action, said EA co-president Ben Soltoff, a sophomore.
STARS has been in the making for two years now, Shaw said. The group began to take form when she first noticed that a “problem for Environmental Alliance... was the desire to do a lot of sustainability-oriented projects without funds.”
The committee was formed in hopes of facilitating more environmental projects around campus and in the greater Durham area by providing necessary funding.
Seven undergraduates and four graduate students will be selected from a pool of more than 30 applicants to be on the STARS committee, which will review proposals from individuals or groups on campus and dole out funds based on their perceived value of the project, Owunna said. Projects can range from sustainability to education and beyond, as long as they foster environmental awareness and activity on campus. Groups and individuals are also encouraged to partner with local groups at Duke, in Durham or at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C.
“This is another way for students at Duke to reach out,” Owunna said.
Whereas STARS will provide a way for groups to complete their environmental projects, SESC will provide the will. SESC will be the mechanism for obtaining funding from the various places around campus where money can be found—the programming fund, the STARS budget and other smaller funds available on campus.
Eldred said he noticed a lack of coordination between student groups during his years on DSG and was inspired to create this committee so that “information flows freely” on campus.
The committee will consist of a chair and vice-chair who coordinate with DSG, Duke University Union, Campus Council, a Graduate and Professional Student Council coordinator who will communicate with graduate students about their environmental endeavors, a Grants and Funding officer who helps groups find and apply for grants and various other representatives responsible for researching ways to improve campus sustainability.
Previous experience is not required to be offered a position on the committee, but Eldred said the groups are looking for members who are enthusiastic about environmental issues. Students are invited to apply for the committee until Oct. 6.
“The possibility is open to furthering our relationship with Durham,” Eldred said, adding that the committee must first execute its duties on campus before reaching out to the Durham area.
In the first year, the goal of these organizations will be to establish themselves on campus and make sure students are aware of the resources they provide, Eldred said. He noted that over time, the presence of committees such as these will hopefully have a greater impact on student life and lead to a greater shift in campus culture.
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