| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 54.99 |
| Liaison | Denice Koljonen |
| Submission Date | Feb. 6, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Boston College
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Bruce
Dixon Sustainability and Energy Specialist Facilities |
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the municipal/local level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the municipal/local level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
Boston College has a leadership position in the Boston Town & Gown Association:
The Boston Town and Gown Association, formed in the spring of 2008, is a coalition of higher education administrators, students, city officials, police, rental agents and neighbors. We are committed to promoting safe, respectful and healthy communities for students living in off-campus housing in the City of Boston.
We believe that by creating strong city-wide partnerships and programs, we can significantly enhance the quality of off-campus life for students, neighbors and colleges and universities. Through these efforts we will address the diverse needs of our students and neighbors, reinforcing their value to our institutions.
Our efforts are multifaceted and include education and outreach, policy enforcement, and student, neighbor, and institution involvement.
Among the many issues that Boston Town & Gown has addressed are greener living, mass-transit use, bike programs, and homeless college students.
City Affiliates:
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office
Boston Inspectional Services Department
Boston Police Department
Boston Mayor's Office
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
BC worked with AICUM to ensure we had a seat at the table with MA DEP to offer input on draft regulations that would have imposed important changes to how college and universities and other large landowners in the Charles River Watershed approach stormwater discharge, obtaining stormwater discharge permits, costs to retrofit infrastructure, as well as requirements to reduce phosphorous.
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the national level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the national level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
Boston College is a welcoming community committed to supporting every student, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. BC has taken steps to influence the plan to block DACA, including these mentioned below:
- Boston College President, William P. Leahy,S.J., participated in calling for the U.S. to uphold and continue DACA and offering to meet with U.S. leaders on the issue. Links:
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/bcnews/campus-community/announcements/daca-support-statement.html
http://bcheights.com/2016/11/29/leahy-signs-statements-supporting-daca-protecting-undocumented-students/
http://lawmagazine.bc.edu/2017/10/deans-column-daca-and-our-campus-community/
BC's president released the following statement:
"The decision to rescind DACA is such a mistake, and so conflicts with our values and heritage as a nation of immigrants. It is essential that Congress resolve this unfortunate situation as soon as possible.
In the meantime, Boston College will continue assisting DACA students in its community."
William P. Leahy, S.J.
President
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the international level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
As is written in our Innovation section, BC has formed a partnership with the U.N.Environment Agency to provide high-quality, real time data to influence tackle air pollution internationally. BC thinks this initiative can touch lives of people in the U.S. and around the globe. We checked "no" above since it's one of our Innovation write-ups.
A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years (if applicable):
ORGANIC FOOD WASTE BAN (see below)
Example of legislative advisory from AICUM on MA DEP regs for organic waste ban. The role of the Office of Government Relations would be to conduct outreach with dining/food service on how we currently dispose of organic food waste and assess impacts to BC on current operations, how can we comply, level of difficulty etc. BC was covered under the threshold and currently complies as the draft regulations were approved.
A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.