by Lynda Lopez, News and Public Affairs Intern, published in the University Community Service Center Newsletter

In the past few years, college campuses across America have made it a priority to protect the environment by implementing "greener" programs on campus. One place where students are forcing green changes is the dining hall. According to the Sustainable Endowments Institute's 2007 report card, which looks at environmental initiatives at the 200 colleges and universities with largest endowments assets in the U.S. and Canada, 70 percent of these schools now devote at least a portion of food budgets to buying from local farms and/or producers.

Another area where college campuses are leading the way is in water conservation. According to Niles Barnes of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), most of the 3,800 institutions of higher education in the U.S. have engaged in some sort of water-saving program.

The University of Chicago is one of the colleges moving forward with green innovation. In 2008, the Office of Sustainability was opened on campus in order to encourage greener programs on campus. One of the first major initiatives by of the newly formed office was the Recycles Program. The free campus bike share program launched in the fall of 2009 and grew to nearly 1,000 users within its first years. Students, faculty, and staff have found it an efficient and easy way to navigate the campus. In May 2010, the University of Chicago held its first e-wasting recycling event which netted 23,000 pounds of materials for recycling. Hundreds of community members and University staff, faculty, and students dropped of their unwanted items for recycling at different drop off sites on campus.

In addition to the amount of work the university itself has been putting into making the campus a "greener" place, student activists have been looking to improve the environment in the city as a whole. The Southside Solidarity Network and Students for a Just and Stable Future (part of the Green Campus Initiative) are some of the UChicago student groups making clean air in the city a main priority.

This year, the groups are rallying in support of the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance, a piece of legislation that would help clean up or shut down two coal power plants in Chicago. According to the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, the coal power plants cause 41 premature deaths per year, 2,800 asthma attacks, and close to 600 emergency room visits (related to asthma).

On October 10, 2010, 20 UChicago students attended the Chicago Clean Power Coalition Rally in Pilsen. Caroline Wooten, a third year in the College and member of the Southside Solidarity Network, thinks that the event was a huge stepping stone to reaching the group's goals. "While the rally was powerful in and of itself, individuals were also given the opportunity to contact city government directly," she said. "Participants signed a petition, made calls to their aldermen, sent postcards to Mayor Daley, and contributed to a public art project."

The rally had about 100 people attend, so UChicago constituted a fifth of the participants. "This turnout definitely showed that students are an important part of the climate movement, and we need to continue to strengthen this movement through participation and leadership," said Wooten.
In addition to the rally in October, Students for a Just and Stable Future teamed up with Students for a Democratic Society on November 1st for a Day of the Dead Rally in Pilsen. This rally pushed for the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance and was organized by local environmental groups in Little Village and Pilsen.

Wooten says that she hopes to continue to phone bank and canvas for the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance, along with other UChicago students. She feels optimistic that the efforts can make a difference. "I think a lot of students care about the environment, and are specifically concerned about climate change."

Thursday, Nov. 4

The 2010-11 Schweitzer Fellows Presents: Health Disparities and Solutions: Tackling the Complex Health Issues of Marginalized Communities
Time: 6:30 - 8:30pm
Location: UIC College of Medicine Research Building - Moss Auditorium (1st Floor)
According to the event organizers, the featured speakers are:
"-Dr. Gregory Scott, Sociology Professor, Director of the Social Science Research Center at DePaul University and documentary filmmaker; Dr. Scott's work focuses on harm reduction, clean needle exchanges, crime and delinquency, community studies, and street gangs.
-Linda Wesp, Family Nurse Practitioner and Director of Adolescent Health at the Howard Brown Health Center, one of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) healthcare organizations. Wesp specializes in providing care to lesbian, gay and bisexual teens, transgendered teens, and individuals with HIV.
"Speakers will share stories of their work, including identified health disparities in specific marginalized populations; programs/approaches to combat disparities; the evaluation of their progress; their successes and failures; and how others might apply to their work in the effort to improve health issues in Chicago and beyond."
**Light Refreshments Will Be Served
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
RSVP encouraged: email rsvp@hmprg.org or call 312.372.4292 ext. 24

Saturday, November 6th
Illinois Student Environmental Coalition Fall Conference
Key note speaker: State Senator Heather Steans
To register visit www.GreenStudents.org
Deadline to register is November 3rd.
Time: 10:00am-4:00pm
Location: 33. East Congress, Columbia College

Monday, November 8th
Summer Links Internship Program Info Session

Time: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Location: Harper Memorial Library Room 130
Summer Links, a program of the University Community Service Center, offers intensive 10-week internships to 30 returning College and graduate students committed to public service, community building, and social change. Interns receive a $4 000 stipend and the option of subsidized on-campus housing, and participate in weekly day-long and evening trainings about Chicago and social justice issues. Returning college, graduate, and professional school students are welcome to apply.
Can't make it? We will also present information sessions on the following dates:
Thursday, December 2nd 6:00-7:00 pm, in the 5710 OMSA Community Lounge, 5710 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Questions? Please contact the Student Intern Ian Williams at summerlinks.ucsc@gmail.com or Program Director Trudi Langendorf at trudi@uchicago.edu or 773.834.2699.