Vassar College
EN-3: Student Life

The Vassar Greens pursue environmental and social justice through action-based campaigns that create lasting change (from their mission statement).

Vassar Animal Rights Coalition works to promote a cruelty-free diet on campus and in the Poughkeepsie Community. They are best known for their promotion of Meatless Mondays; a pledge to forego meat products on Mondays.

SEED, Students for Equitable Environmental Decisions launched in the 2017/18 school year to serve as an activist hub for the college's carbon neutrality efforts.

Vassar Experimental Garden (VEG) was started March 2009 by a group students interested in learning to grow their own food and share gardening skills and information. The V.E.G. is organized through the ResLife office and is designed as a cooperative for students and non-students within the Vassar Community.

Vassar Food CoOp is a student organized CSA that has a weekly on-campus pickup for milk, cheese and produce. The students manage membership, farmer outreach, and CSA-share distribution each week.

Challah for Hunger is a student run group and is a local chapter of the national organization. Student bake and sell challah every week to raise money for causes that actively promote social justice. From the the national website: ""For all the volunteers and many of the customers, Challah for Hunger provides opportunities to be involved in a fun and dedicated community, address humanitarian problems, develop and practice new skills like baking and marketing, gain business and leadership experience, engage in traditions of challah and tzedakah, become involved in advocacy and other forms of activism, and more."

In October 2015, David Orr gave a campus lecture on "Going to Montana" and how sustainability is a journey we must embark upon.

In February 2016, Rob Phocas '91, the Sustainability Manager of the City of Charlotte, North Carolina gave a lecture ""Where do we go from here: Building Smart Cities” on the use of technology and data collection to promote sustainability initiatives.

In November 2016 Hunter Lovins, professor at Bard MBA in Sustainability and sustainable business leader, discussed “Building an Economy in Service of Life.""

In March 2017, the Office of Sustainability hosted a career panel on careers in sustainability with Vassar alumnae/i.

The Office of Sustainability hosted a movie screening of "The True Cost" on the environmental impacts of the fast fashion industry, bringing together various student groups and increasing awareness of global sustainability. A clothing exchange was held afterward.

In Fall 2016, the Collaborative Arts Across Disciplines initiative hosted an Artist-in-Residence to create art and poetry on trees around campus.

Vassar College Outing Club is a student governed organization that aims to stimulate low-impact participation in and appreciation for the outdoors, while offering trained, reliable, and safe outdoor leadership, knowledge and equipment for the community without financial discrimination.

In the Fall of 2016, the common reading for the first year class was "The Wildlife of Our Bodies" by Rob Dunn. From the book jacket, "We are trapped in bodies that evolved to deal with the dependable presence of hundreds of other species. As Dunn reveals, our modern disconnect from the web of life has resulted in unprecedented effects that immunologists, evolutionary biologists, psychologists, and other scientists are only beginning to understand. Diabetes, autism, allergies, many anxiety disorders, autoimmune diseases, and even tooth, jaw, and vision problems are increasingly plaguing bodies that have been removed from the ecological context in which they existed for millennia." The book and the related campus lecture explored our relationship with nature and how that relationship has changed and evolved over millions of years.

"Vassar has a number of cooperative living arrangements, formally and informally known as: Ferry Haus, Meat Haus, and Other Haus. Ferry Haus are vegetarian or vegan and both emphasize cooperative sustainable living by practicing composting and making and sharing group meals.

Through the Field Work Office, students may participate in internships with local environmental organizations including Riverkeeper, Clearwater, Poughkeepsie Farm Project, Scenic Hudson, and Sprout Creek Farm.

The Career Development Office hosts Sophomore Career Connections annually, a 2 day workshop for second year students to learn networking and discover potential career paths. There is a dedicated track for students interested in sustainability and environmental careers.