Stonehill College
EN-3: Student Life

Students for Environmental Action (SEA) Students for Environmental Action (SEA) serves to educate the campus community about various environmental issues on campus and around the world. SEA sponsors campus wide programs and initiatives aimed to make Stonehill a greener school. Activism Club The mission of the Activism Club is to educate Stonehill community members about social justice issues while promoting sustainable development in communities and the environment. ENACTUS: Enterprise, Action and Us Stonehill Enactus (Enterprise, Action and Us) works to bring together the top leaders of today and tomorrow to create a better, more sustainable world through the use of business principles and business models. The club promotes the awareness of business opportunities to address and solve social problems by creating outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living. Food Truth The student formed group “Food Truth” encompasses all aspects surrounding the food system: production, purchasing, menu planning, composting and waste disposal. Food Truth also serves as an umbrella group combining the smaller student groups Real Food, Compost Team, and No To-Go. In 2014, Food Truth obtained the President of Stonehill College's signature on the Real Food Challenge Commitment, which pledges Stonehill to purchase 20% "real food" by 2020. The group also implemented a system in 2016 that enables students to return reusable to-go containers at the MacPhaidin Library and the Roche Dining Commons to minimize use of disposable containers and maximize use of reusable containers. Mindful Living Community The Mindful Living Community is a special interest house on campus comprised of over fifty students that live together and choose to consume less, conserve more, and give back to the community. The three tenets of the Mindful Living mission are environmental action, social action, and community building. Within the Mindful Living Community, the Mindful Environmental Action Committee serves to educate the Mindful Living community and Stonehill community about easy ways to be more environmental friendly. Compost Team The Compost Team was formed in the Fall of 2011 and is comprised of faculty, staff, and students focused on advocating and educating the student body about reducing the waste of organic material on campus through composting. The Compost Team has served to educate the campus on how to compost through classes, posters and incentives. Composting in the Roche Dining Commons began on September 5, 2012, and was subsequently implemented at the Holy Cross Center cafeteria. All compost collected is delivered to The Farm at Stonehill where it is used to feed the soil and grow crops that are later harvested and donated. Eco Rep Class The Stonehill College Eco Rep Class is a one-credit class designed to teach students how to promote campus sustainability and environmental stewardship through peer education. Eco Reps are responsible for hosting at least one program per month in their residence halls. These programs are designed to educate their peers about how to act in a more environmentally conscious way. The 2011 Eco Reps Class was responsible for creating the Sustainability Blog that you can learn more about under Student Sustainability Blog. Residence Hall Eco-Reps In 2014, the Eco-Rep program was extended to the residence halls by creating an Eco-Rep position on each of the eight Residence Hall Councils. The Hall Councils meet weekly to discuss issues and concerns that affect their residence halls, plan community events, programs and fundraisers, and many other activities that bring students together within each residence area. The Eco-Rep hall council position was created to further expand the Eco-Rep program on campus, manager the water conservation campaign, and develop other sustainability related education initiatives to take place throughout the year. They meet bi-weekly with Energy Manager Jessa Gagne and Residence Director Omar Rodriguez, and are also invited to attend the monthly Environmental Stewardship Council meetings. Sustainability at Stonehill (SGA) The SGA focus group Sustainability at Stonehill focuses on campus wide recycling, dining hall composting and ways to reduce water usage. In 2012 students voted on an extra $50,000 budget from SGA to go towards a sustainability package that included installation of filtered water bottle dispensers, multi-stream recycling bins, energy saving motion sensor lights, low flow faucets, low flow shower heads and more. These sustainability tools have helped Stonehill reduce waste and energy consumption as well as help students practice a more sustainable lifestyle. Green Executive Committee Leaders of Green Student Groups listed below meet 4 times per semester to inform one another about different sustainability initiatives that they are running on campus and to plan larger green events like the Sustainability Fair and Jamnesty. These meetings serve to increase awareness about the groups' events and increase community support and participation for their initiatives.

The Farm at Stonehill is an initiative of The Mission Division at Stonehill College and was developed to enrich students' academic endeavors by providing students with the opportunity to actively engage in social justice issues pertaining to food in neighboring communities while also helping to make available fresh, nutritious, locally grown food to local food pantries and meal providers for families and individuals in need. The Farm's vision is achieved through the following ways: Utilizing 1.5 acres of Stonehill College land to farm and grow nutritious fruits and vegetables; Inviting the entire campus community - students, faculty, and staff - to help out with all levels of farming, connecting with food pantries, meal providers, and social service agencies in nearby areas to provide them with fresh and nutritious foods; Encouraging the ideals of wellness and sustainability.

Stonehill College has established a "Green Fund", which provides $10,000 annually to fund student led sustainability initiatives.

The Martin Institute for Law and Society is in the midst of a two-year study of Environmental Justice, Sustainability and Economic Development. As part of this theme, the Martin Institute hosts a variety of events, speakers, discussions and films.

Students for Environmental Action (SEA) hosts a semi-annual Sustainability Fair, which is a campus wide event held on the quad (weather permitting). The sustainability fair features student groups, class projects, departmental groups, and vendors associated with Stonehill College that are working to promote and incorporate sustainability on campus. Frequent vendors include Ben and Jerry’s, Stonyfield, and the band Melodeego that performs using a bike powered sound system that requires students to pedal to power their performance.

The High Adventure Club at Stonehill offers many outdoors programs. The High Adventure Club does not specifically follow "Leave No Trace" but does follow its principles.

The Martin Institute for Law & Society is in the midst of a two-year study of Environmental Justice, Sustainability and Economic Development, the Martin Institute hosts a variety of events, speakers, discussions and films.

The semi-annual Sustainability fair has many table displays and demonstrations that illustrate sustainable practices that are able to be easily incorporated into the lives of all Stonehill community members. There is also a Mindful Living Community, which is a special interest house on campus comprised of over fifty students that live together and choose to consume less, conserve more, and give back to the community. The three tenets of the Mindful Living mission are environmental action, social action, and community building. Within the Mindful Living Community, the Mindful Environmental Action Committee serves to educate the Mindful Living community and Stonehill community about easy ways to be more environmental friendly. Some ways in which the Mindful community contributes to their environmental action mission include composting, recycling redeemable bottles and cans and organizing campus wide clean-ups in which anyone is able to participate.

Stonehill College offers an internship with the energy manager of the College. Through this position, the intern receives hands on experience in energy management and sustainability practices. Internships are also available at The Farm that include working at the 1.5 acre farm and furthering its sustainability objectives.

Stonehill holds many other sustainability focused events such as Recyclemania, the Furniture Fair, and Jamnesty. Jamnesty: Jamnesty is an annual outdoor music festival for social justice held each spring. The event includes performances by students and outside bands, and dozens of clubs and vendors supporting various social and environmental justice issues. Recyclemania Stonehill participates in the Recyclemania Tournament, which is an 8 week program of friendly competition between colleges and universities to promote waste reduction through recycling programs on campus. Furniture Fair Each Fall ENACTUS organizes and facilitates a furniture fair where unwanted residence hall items from the previous year are collected and resold to incoming students. The furniture fair eliminates disposal and maintenance costs as well as provides freshman with affordable alternatives.