Knox College
EN-3: Student Life

Student Senate Sustainability Committee The Student Senate has several important functions on the Knox campus. It provides a forum for debate on campus issues, makes recommendations concerning those issues, has a role in determining how student activity fee funds will be spent and makes student appointments to faculty committees. The Senate Sustainability Committee deals directly with issues on campus involving sustainability. KARES KARES (Knox Advocates for Recycling and Environmental Sustainability) seeks to promote education and support of environmentally-friendly practices and issues (including pollution, sustainability, and city sprawl) and encourages recycling,. The club also hosts events like Earth Day celebrations and spring gardening. KARES works to encourage recycling on campus in various ways. The club also works to educate students about various environmental issues. Outdoor Recreation Club The Knox Outdoors Club is on campus to promote people being outside and doing various outdoor activities. Past events have included rock climbing, spelunking, horseback riding, camping, and canoeing. Garden Club The Knox Community Garden is a student-run project that promotes sustainable agriculture on campus. There are a variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers planted each spring and fall. Food for Thought Food for Thought promotes educational activities about making sustainable food decisions. It also works with the campus dining services to make sustainable changes. Friends of Green Oaks (FOGO) FOGO hosts events such as trail clearing, invasive species control, campouts, and leisure activities at Knox's 700-acre woodland and prairie preserve. Eco House The Eco House is one campus housing option solely dedicated to living in a sustainable manner. Residents work together to show how such a lifestyle is practical and functional. The Free Store The Free Store is a student-run "store" where students can leave items such as clothing, books, and school supplies that are in good condition for other students to take for free. Bike Club The Bike Club was founded to promote bicycling for commuting and recreation. The Club has helped to maintain and promote the Bike Share program. Knox Food Coalition Knox Food Coalition was founded to promote more sustainable food options on campus, in particular more local food in the cafeteria. Making Things Making Things was founded on the principle of creating new things or art out of found objects and "trash" thereby reusing them. Growing Galesburg Growing Galesburg was founded to increase awareness of local food issues, promote the Galesburg Farmers Market, and foster relationships with local farmers and CSAs. Knox students were given "Knox Bucks" to spend at the Farmers Market, increasing attendance. FIJI FIJI is one of Knox's fraternities that has implemented a Sustainability Chair and is working to "green" its campus house and educate its members on sustainable issues.

Knox College has had an on-campus organic garden, started by students, since at least 2008. The Knox Community Garden is adjacent to Eco House and provides opportunities for any student to learn about organic gardening, composting, etc. The Knox Farm was founded in 2011 and is a curriculum-based urban farm used for Environmental Studies classes and research projects. The Knox Farm is expanded in 2014 with the addition of growing infrastructure, funded with student activity fees and grants. In the first year of operation, the high tunnel, managed and staffed by students, yielded 2000 lbs of vegetables and fruits for the campus.

EquiKnox lecture series This biannual lecture focuses on the broad themes of sustainability, attempting to educate the larger campus community and bring new voices into the dialogue. Past speakers have included geologists, food experts, scientists, artists, and writers. Bioneers Conference This annual conference is hosted at Knox College and includes web streaming of the conference in California along with a keynote speaker and many other local experts on sustainability. Earth Month Students organize many events during April each year to highlight sustainability and environmentalism. Many other campus events occur throughout the year related to diversity, social justice, economics, and the environment.

In Spring of 2013, Ben Solee, an American cellist, singer-songwriter, and composer known for his political activism spoke and performed at Knox as part of the EquiKnox series. The EquiKnox series regularly includes an artistic or musical component that supports the message of Sustainability.

The Green Oaks Term is an opportunity for committed students to live and study at Green Oaks Biological field station. The Outdoor Recreation Club is a student organization that plans regular outings that follow the Leave No Trace principles. Meanwhile, Environmental Studies course field trips, Geology course field trips, the Alaska summer program, National Parks course field trip, and Green Oaks summer term all provide curriculum-based outdoor education opportunities that also follow these principles.

Eco House, a residence dedicated to celebrating and practicing earth-conscious living, accepts students as space is available.

Various sustainability-focused internships are available on campus, including three 10-hour per week Office of Sustainability staff positions, two 10-hour per week head bicycle mechanic positions, and two 5-hour per week bicycle mechanic intern positions.

Knox students are offered the opportunity to sign the Graduation Pledge of Social & Environmental Responsibility, and to wear the associated green ribbon on their commencement regalia.

The President's Council on Sustainability offers students the opportunity to join with faculty, staff, and administrators in defining the priorities and actions of the college with regards to sustainability. This group meets weekly, and participating students contribute through decision-making task forces, discussion and deliberation.