Miami University
EN-2: Student Orientation

Sustainability information is prominent in our Welcome Week mobile app. The app contains ten sustainability tips covering a variety of topics applicable to campus life, from recycling and reusing, to joining green student organizations. This mobile app helped us cease physical printing of the Welcome Week program guide, of which we used to order 8,000 copies (for first- and second-year students). Rather than distributing printed Welcome Week information, the residence hall staff created a station on move-in day where they helped each student download the app to his/her mobile device. This app also helped us eliminate the use of plastic keycards by allowing students to check into dorms using the app.

10 “Its” to Love Red and Live Green included on the Welcome Week mobile app:

Include it – Recycling at Miami is single stream. Paper, cardboard, bottles, cans, cartons and plastics are collected all together and then sorted at Rumpke’s MRF (Materials Recovery Facility).

Wipe it – Miami’s popular salad togo container, its lid and similar plastics (like cold beverage cups) are good to recycle. If needed, a quick wipe with your napkin helps keep the other recycled materials clean. (Tissues and napkins are always trash.)

Get it – BCRTA’s buses will take you around campus, to Kroger and WalMart. METRO’s buses will take you to the wonders of Cincinnati. BCRTA’s buses don’t currently run from Miami to METRO. If you want to have inexpensive, low-emitting public transit to and from the Queen City, tell your student government.

Replace it – Your disposable habit isn’t valued here. Move beyond single-use coffee cups, water bottles and shopping bags. Help Miami win “Kill the Cup” too!

Shorten it – Every gallon of water takes energy to process, heat and move. Shorter showers (and full laundry loads) save water and energy (and the soaps, detergents and shampoos we send down the drain to the Oxford Water Treatment Plant).

Cut it – Turning off your lights, laptop, TV and other plug-ins when they aren’t needed saves energy and money while reducing our carbon footprint. We often need to fire the “peaking” engines to help manage our load and to support the stability of the electric grid.

See it – From water bottle refill and electric vehicle charging stations to green roofs, geothermal heat exchange, LED lighting, butterfly gardens, stormwater management ponds, LEED buildings, bike lanes, and naked streets, Miami is covered with green features to step out, study and enjoy.

Share it – Share, instead of throwing away food and items that are still usable. And remember that ShareFest will be happy to collect items at the end of the academic year to benefit the community.

Work it – Come to the Student Employment Job Fair, or check out Student Employment on Miami’s website to apply for a Zero Waste Ambassador, or other, job.

Join it – Physical Facilities has a departmental student organization called the Green Team. Join us, or other green student orgs on the HUB.

Miami University’s Orientation also includes various events including sustainability components. These include:

Multiple Identities is a 20-minute session that reiterates the importance of diversity. This interactive session requires orientation leaders to engage small groups of students on gender, race, ethnicity/ancestry, sexuality, socio-economic status, religion, and ability.

In the community expectations presentations, students are introduced to the implementation of Bias Reporting and to Title IX.

It Is My Place- large-scale theater presentation focused on preventing/responding to sexual & interpersonal violence, has included content on bias language.

UniDiversity Festival- university-wide festival celebrating Latin American and Caribbean culture

Orientation is also housed in new LEED constructed residence halls on walkways that prominently displayed four sustainability interpretive signs with QR codes for more information.