| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.59 |
| Liaison | Delicia Nahman |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2020 |
Lafayette College
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.75 / 2.00 |
Kendall
Roberson Sustainability Fellow Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Society of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (SEES)- SEES, advised by Arthur Kney, is an organization with three main goals. First, S.E.E.S. provides a learning experience for interested students in the related fields of environmental science and engineering. Second, S.E.E.S. conducts research to help solve current environmental science and engineering problems. Third, S.E.E.S. seeks to promote environmental sustainability through community outreach and partnerships.
Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection (LEAP)- LEAP, advised by Katalin Fabian, is Lafayette College’s student environmental advocacy group. They are dedicated to making Lafayette a more sustainable institution and decreasing its ecological footprint. They are composed of students from all class years and all majors, and take advantage of our variety of perspectives to address a multitude of environmental concerns at Lafayette.
The Lafayette Food and Farm Cooperative (LAFFCO) is a student organization that works to increase involvement and knowledge of our food and agricultural system. It also serves as the student branch of LaFarm.
LEAP (Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection) club promotes environmental initiatives and hosts sustainability related events on campus. LEAP organizes events like community clean ups and recycled paper making to foster community for passionate environmental students.
TBTT (Take Back the Tap) is a club devoted to banning single use plastics on campus. TBTT promotes reusable water bottle use and water refill stations. In 2018, they built several plastic cup pyramids displaying how many plastic cups are used everyday in certain dining halls.
More information: https://sustainability.lafayette.edu/aboutus/student-organizations/
Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
LaFarm, run by Lisa Miskelly, is one of several sustainability initiatives at Lafayette. LaFarm Community Garden & Working Farm is a site for teaching, research, outreach, growing healthy food and building community. Our daily work and our long term goals aim to build an understanding of the critical role of food and farming in environmental stewardship.
More information: https://garden.lafayette.edu/
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
In 2018, Lafayette hosted Michael Mann as the Jones Lecture Earth Month Speaker. Mann presented to over 300 students in attendance on the impacts of climate change and the importance of civic action.
Also in 2018, Lafayette hosted the LVAIC Campus Sustainability Conference featuring workshops, presentations, and poster sessions focused on sustainability. https://calendar.lafayette.edu/node/28096
Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
"How We See" (April 2017) is an installation art project conceived and created by six Lafayette College art and science students, led by Visiting Artist Julia Buntaine. Located in the Williams Visual Arts Center Ahart Plaza, this installation explores the phenomenon and mechanisms of sight through an exploratory environment. The structure of the installation takes direct inspiration from the anatomy and biology of the visual system, and highlights visual experiences such as color perception, optical illusions, and the pairing of meaning to content in a visual scene. More information: https://calendar.lafayette.edu/node/23557
Lafayette hosted world-famous environmental artist, Christo, the 2018 Grossman Visiting Artist. Christo gave a talk about his work with his late wife, Jeanne Claude. For more information about their works, please see http://christojeanneclaude.net/. More information about the event: https://calendar.lafayette.edu/node/31123
In April of 2018, Lafayette hosted "An Inconvenient Sequel" film screening. More information here: https://calendar.lafayette.edu/node/31954
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
The Lafayette Outdoors Society (LOSt) is an organization that introduces students to the great outdoor recreation activities that the Easton area has to offer. Events include hiking/Camping, rock climbing, kayaking, cycling and running. LOSt follows Leave No Trace principles. The faculty advisor for LOSt is Cliff Reiter.
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The TREEHouse special interest living group is located on in an off campus house that is still college-owned. The purpose of the living group is to establish a low-impact, environmentally-conscious culture. The members of the TREEhouse all live together, trying to be models of recycling, efficiency, and conservation – employing human ingenuity, innovativeness and resourcefulness to establish a virtually waste-less and environmentally friendly community. The members of the group help to develop a campus-wide consciousness about preservation of the environment and the group serves as a pilot for new campus-wide environmental and energy policy. The TREEhouse was previously a interest floor located in a residence hall on campus. Three years ago it was disbanded for a year and has been an off campus living leaning community (LLC) for the past three years. Grace Reynolds, in Residence Life, has information regarding all of the LLC's.
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Through Lafayette's community garden, LaFarm, students work under Lisa Miskelly, the Farm Manager, to grow food using organic, small scale, sustainable practices and then help in selling that food both to our Dining Halls and at a market for students and staff on campus. This both involves hands on labor and logistical office work. More information: https://garden.lafayette.edu/lafarm-work-opportunities/
EcoReps are also paid student employees through the Office of Sustainability to serve as peer-educators and sustainability ambassadors across campus. More information: https://sustainability.lafayette.edu/aboutus/ecoreps/
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
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.