Southern New Hampshire University
EN-3: Student Life

The Environmental Club, formally known as The Environmental Sustainable Student Group, was formed in 2008. Previously it held other names such as Students for Environmental Action. This club is run by an executive board of student leaders a well as a faculty advisor. They hold weekly meetings on campus and organize events for members and non-members surrounding the topic of sustainability. 

The Outing Club has been active for about 10 years and a core part of its mission is to appreciate nature. The club practices this by offering students the opportunity to engage in the wilderness and outdoor programs (e.g., hiking, rafting, mountain climbing, visiting waterfalls, and camping) that follow Leave no Trace (LNT) principles. Though this club has a faculty advisor,it is primarily run by students and student coordinators who plan and put these LNT-based trips together.

Sustainable SNHU was created in 2024 as a way to engage the global campus learners at SNHU. It is an educational space where students across the country learn, engage, promote, and discuss sustainability and earth-conscious topics. SustainableSNHU is run by online learners. 

The Arboretum at SNHU was developed in 2014. The 200-acre outdoor space has provided over 2,000 hours of STEM-centric opportunities. The Arboretum invites the community to visit and see various types of wetlands, forested environments, and other ecosystems.

SNHU mission is to "have the arboretum become a space that is recognized and treasured for creating innovative academic experiences, fostering community wellbeing and generating passionate and engaged leaders."

In the Spring of 2019, The Pollinator Garden was established from January through May 2019 by three students in the School of Business. 

Brewed Awakening is a student-run café located on the first floor of the Hospitality Center. The café specializes in homemade breakfast items, coffee, and teas. They make homemade breakfast sandwiches with bacon, egg, cheese, and the customer’s choice of bread. Brewed uses local vendors for all their food items. They can also make normal coffee, lattes, macchiatos, and americanos. Brewed Awakening takes Penmen Cash, Credit/Debit, and regular cash; they do not accept Dining Dollars. They have a walk-up counter and a seating area for visitors to work or socialize. The cafe where Brewed Awakening is located has been around for a long time. Before it was Brewed Awakening, it was under different names such as Cup of Love and Caffe Dolce. It has always been student-run and operated.

https://penmenpress.com/2022/10/27/whats-brewing-at-brewed-awakening

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The Environmental Club on campus holds events targeting student engagement and education. One example is a documentary screening of "The Merrimack: River at Risk with Dave Anderson" with Dave as a guest speaker at the end of the event. 

The Outing Club has been active for about 10 years and a core part of its mission is to appreciate nature. The club practices this by offering students the opportunity to engage in the wilderness and outdoor programs (e.g., hiking, rafting, mountain climbing, visiting waterfalls, and camping) that follow Leave no Trace (LNT) principles. Though this club has a faculty advisor,it is primarily run by students and student coordinators who plan and put these LNT-based trips together.

Along with the Outing Club, the Office of Student Involvement included and encouraged LNT principles in all outdoor related events during SNHU's annual Welcome Week. 

First-Year Seminar (FYS 101) is a 3-credit course required of all new students. It is also a Cornerstone Course in The Commons:  SNHU’s Core Curriculum for Justice, Equity, & Citizenship. In FYS 101 we explore concepts, histories, & experiences that have formed & challenged our democratic ideals. Along the way, we practice skills such as critical reading & thinking, formulating questions, researching, & contributing to a team. Ultimately, the skills you gain in FYS 101 will be valuable to you as a college student, as a human being, & as a professional in a workforce that values evidence-based reasoning, as well as collaboration, & cultural competence.

As a class, they read Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar:

A startling and eye-opening look into America’s First Family, Never Caught is the powerful narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington’s runaway slave who risked it all to escape the nation’s capital and reach freedom.

When George Washington was elected president, he reluctantly left behind his beloved Mount Vernon to serve in New York and then Philadelphia, the temporary seat of the nation’s capital. In setting up his household he took Tobias Lear, his celebrated secretary, and nine slaves, including Ona Judge, about which little has been written. As he grew accustomed to Northern ways, there was one change he couldn’t get his arms around: Pennsylvania law required enslaved people be set free after six months of residency in the state. Rather than comply, Washington decided to circumvent the law. Every six months he sent the slaves back down south or out of the state, just as the clock was about to expire.

Though Ona Judge lived a life of relative comfort, the few pleasantries she was afforded were nothing compared to freedom, a glimpse of which she encountered first-hand in Philadelphia. So, when the opportunity presented itself one spring day in Philadelphia,  Judge left everything she knew to escape to New England. Yet freedom would not come without its costs.

At just twenty-two-years-old, Ona became the subject of an intense manhunt led by George Washington, who used his political and personal contacts to recapture his property.

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The Chandler Center is the community service department on campus that provides many different student-worker positions. One of the positions that the department offers is Service Coordinators. Service Coordinators are in charge of coordinating service projects on campus and in the local community. There are also Alternative Break Coordinators who spend months planning and preparing for service trips centered around various issues, including environmental sustainability. Also, the office hires Service Learning Coordinators who assist in courses that have integrated community service into its curriculum.

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"The general education program at SNHU offers a first-year experience in the environment and sustainability. This 'learning community' is offered to entering freshmen who take together (as a cohort) an introductory environmental issues course, English composition, as well as SNHU 101 courses each with a sustainability theme. Here is the description:

Human Impact: Living on Earth
What are the environmental issues impacting our lives and futures? Students in this Learning Community will be enrolled in three courses together, helping them to develop a strong sense of connection to students and faculty with common interests. The courses in this Learning Community include:

SCI 219: Environmental Issues, in which students study various environmental topics, including ecology, pollution, and sustainability;
English 120: College Composition I, which offers practice in researching and writing about the environment and related topics, such as food, health, and social justice.
SNHU 101: First-Year Seminar, in which they will use discussion, reading, and research to develop new understandings around controversial social issues, such as sexism and racism. "