Illinois State University
EN-2: Student Orientation

All incoming Freshmen and Transfer students attend orientation events to acclimate them to campus. The "Preview" event and "Transfer Days" begin with the invitation to bring a school supply for donation to local elementary schools. This immediate introduction to ISU's core value of Civic Engagement is followed by induction into our culture of environmental literacy where students are provided information on our free public transportation systems, and toured through campus where we have informational signage (and tour guides) that explain the water gardens, Tree Campus USA status, and our arboretums. When students tour the campus for the first time they have the opportunity to go through Turner Hall and the Office of Sustainability. Turner Hall has a solar PV systems and wind power demonstration labs, showing students that they are going to a sustainable campus. Throughout the whole campus, there are completed student projects (funded by the Student Sustainability Committee), informational poster boards on applied sustainability research, and an embedded culture of recycling and waste minimization. As an urban campus, the economic and political aspects of our host community are evident in an easy transition from the campus into the Town of Normal's sustainability award winning "Uptown Normal." Students and their families are invited to shop at locally owned business while walking past solar powered trash compactors, and beautiful landscapes filled with native plants and provided water through an embedded water catchment system. The campus and community prominently display sustainability integrated into everyday life. https://www.normal.org/index.aspx?NID=910