Stonehill College
EN-3: Student Life

Students for Environmental Action (SEA): This club serves to educate the campus community about different environmental issues on campus and around the world. SEA sponsors campus wide programs and initiatives that make Stonehill a greener school. SEA is committed to campus-wide education/awareness, promoting other clubs such as Food Truth, and reducing Stonehill’s environmental impact through planning and action.

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.

Students of Professor Sue Mooney's Honors Environmental Ethics class created the Buy Nothing Community at Stonehill College (Hill Thrift). This movement is a community-driven project with the ultimate goals of reducing waste and encouraging the community to shop second hand.

Stonehill College has established a "Green Fund", which provides $8,700 annually to fund student led sustainability initiatives.

In April 2024, Stonehill held a Climate Justice Teach-In. Programming included panel discussions on climate injustice (social injustice imposed by climate change), assessing our own carbon footprints, overviewing basic mechanisms of climate change, overcoming inaction, the impacts of climate change on wildlife, the intersection of faith and climate, and solutions to the climate crisis. It also focused on concrete actions that can take here at Stonehill to promote a more sustainable future. Inspirational musical interludes from Girls From the Hill, Prof. Corey Dolgon, Prof. Jim Bohn and Greg Wolfe, and a performance by RUCKUS were also featured.

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.

Open to all students, the HOPE Services Immersion Program seeks to engage members of the Stonehill community in cross-cultural service experiences, endeavors to challenge the Stonehill community to grow in love of God and neighbor by embodying the Church's commitment to a preferential option for and with the poor. The 2024/2025 themes included Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, Hurricane Relief Work & Urban Poverty, Hunger & Homelessness, Environmental Justice, Rural Poverty, & International Community Development.

Note: HOPE is an acronym that stands for teh four tenets of the program: Honoring our neighbor, Organizing for justice, Practicing peace, Encountering God.

Internships are available at The Farm that include working at the 1.5 acre farm and furthering its sustainability objectives. Recent graduates can also apply to work at The Farm as a "year of service".

Students for Environmental Action has hosted numerous campus cleanups and educational initiatives. However, with COVID-19, the club has transitioned to how students can make more sustainable choices at home, as well as on campus. This past semester SEA has joined the Yale Energy Consortium where colleges throughout the nation push for more energy efficient solutions, developing a bottom-up approach to implement change.

A few members of Food Truth attended a Real Food Challenge Hindsight Seminar at the start of the Spring 2021 semester. They were able to learn about what other schools are doing in regard to the Real Food Challenge. The students have been inspired and are brainstorming new ideas for Stonehill such as a sustainable purchasing policy as well as food labels for the dining hall. We plan to create these food labels this semester and hold an event during Earth Week to celebrate the progress that the College has made as well as look ahead and set goals for the future.