Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 49.64
Liaison Adam Maurer
Submission Date March 31, 2021

STARS v2.2

Seattle Central College
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.25 / 2.00 Adam Maurer
District Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
No

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
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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?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:

The Seattle Central College Plant Science Laboratory offers students hands-on experience with urban agriculture and greenhouses. It is a laboratory/greenhouse space open to the general public for viewing and used by students of Seattle Central College for plant-related science activities. The Seattle Culinary Academy, part of Seattle Central College, uses a part of the Plant Science Laboratory to grow greens that they incorporate in their prepared meals.


Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
No

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

n/a


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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:

n/a


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:

Seattle Central celebrates Earth Week annually. Each year is slightly different, but in spring 2019 we hosted a public waste audit, screened the film "Seed: The Untold Story- Defending the Future of Food," hosted a panel titled, "Women in Food and Agriculture," hosted a talk titled, "Urban Agriculture and Social Justice," and hosted an Earth Day fair, which showcased various companies, non-profits, and groups that are bringing more sustainable food to Seattle and the PNW.

Additionally, the Library hosts a weekly discussion series, COSI (Conversations on Social Issues). This series often highlights sustainability speakers and discussion. Sustainability related conversations within the past 3 years include, "Multi-Metric Environmental Costs of Animal-Based Diet: Feeding a 9-billion people earth," "Peace and Labor Activism in Okinawa and Tokyo," "Let It Not Happen Again: Lessons of the Japanese Exclusion," "Unions and Millenials, the New Labor Movement," "Re-entry and Education for Currently and Formerly Incarcerated Students," "Representations and Readings of Blackness in Historical Film and Images: Applying Visual Literacy," "Linked Fate: Race and Political Mobilization," "Artivists' Strategies for Creating a Civic Discourse of Belonging," "Interracial Relations at Seattle Central College," and "Carbon Tax for Climate Justice."


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?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:

The School of Apparel Design & Development engages in cultural arts events, installation and performance related to sustainability with students, alumni, and apparel development professionals as the intended audience. Here are a few examples; 1) As part of the annual Innovation Series a panel discusses sustainability from several perspectives by companies and artisans who use recycled and repurposed materials to create product or art. 3/14/2014 "Alchemist / Artist / Activist - A Vision of Sustainability", 2) Annually students participate in Goodwill's "Glitter Gala" to design fashion garments from Goodwill products to present in their fashion show.


Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
No

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:

n/a


Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:

All students pursuing the AA degree are required to complete 10 credits that fulfill the Integrated Studies (IS) special requirement. They can fulfill this requirement by taking a Learning Community (LC) course, Linked courses, or two approved stand-alone courses.

When students successfully complete an integrative learning course or project, they will be able to do at least two of the following:

• Identify the strengths and limitations of different fields of study or different ways of knowing.
• Explain and evaluate the relationships among different perspectives within a field of study, among different fields of study, and or different lived experiences.
• Integrate concepts and analytical frameworks from multiple perspectives to develop one or more of the following: comprehensive descriptions, multi-causal explanations, new interpretations, or deeper explorations of issues.
• Analyze and reflect upon insights gained from integrating multiple perspectives in a purposeful project or experience.

Integrated Studies is a collaborative teaching and learning mode which explores questions, problems, or issues too broad to be adequately studied within a single discipline, and which aims at a complex understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge. For the past few years (i.e. academic years 2017-2018 through 2020-2021), Integrated Studies has recently focused on Place and Space (students from English, Environmental Science, Global Health, Oceanography, ESL, and Sociology brought both local and global perspectives and solutions to key points related to climate and the sustainability of our planet: agriculture, energy, economy, democracy, and education), food (students from English, Geography, Psychology, Environmental Science, Culinary Arts, and Sociology worked together to develop social change projects around the issue of food production, scarcity, and more. Student research from this project inspired the creation of a campus food pantry), and justice (students are using the film “13” to assess criminal justice, income inequality, and other factors involved in systemic racism in America).


Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
No

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:

n/a


Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:

The Seattle Colleges Office of Sustainability has hired Student Sustainability Engagement Ambassadors from fall 2019-present. Additionally, the Office of Sustainability offers student internships, employment, and engagement opportunities that meet students needs and interests. Recent students have worked to calculate college recycling rates, develop student engagement programs, and others.


Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):

n/a


A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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