Franklin: The New Green

09/01/2009

Sustainability efforts on the rise at Franklin College Switzerland.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009, marked the kick-off of the Franklin College sustainability initiative:  students, faculty and administrative staff all came to pick up their SIGG bottles, locally Swiss-made, aluminum water bottles, as part of a move toward a more sustainable Franklin. At the close of the day, a celebration followed in the North Campus Dining Hall. An array of delicious snacks greeted students, who were also allowed to fill up their new bottles for free at the soda fountain. In addition to the student crowd, those faculty and staff in attendance included President Erik Nielsen, Provost Kris Bulcroft, Dean Sara Steinert Borella and Professor Brack Hale, all of whom made quick speeches on their hopes for the future of Franklin sustainability efforts. “I will lead by example and reduce my use of expenditures” said by President Nielsen while holding his new SIGG bottle. Provost Bulcroft even referred to the SIGG bottles as “the first flower on a magnificent bush.”

Professor Hale introduced the attendees of the Sustainability Kick-Off Celebration to the new office on campus, The Sustainability Center, home to the new initiative. The office is located on the top floor of the North Campus Villa, where Professors Hale, Alison Vogelaar and Joshua Long can be found working to make the campus more sustainable. In the near future, the office hopes to begin conducting research on the use of waste at Franklin College and explore other sustainable efforts on campus. The new center is also hoping to receive grants to help fund the research, as well as provide scholarships to send students to conferences. The idea is to send students to these conferences for the expansion of knowledge, so they can return to campus ready to put what they learn to work in our community.

The introduction of the SIGG bottles on campus was the first major accomplishment to come out of the new Sustainability Office, but the idea came from students. The students involved had a say in almost the entire process, from presenting the idea to the campus community through the design process and distribution. Students even had a say in the colors of the bottles. White bottles belong to the graduating class of 2009/2010, dark blue to the class of 2011, light blue to the class of 2012, and teal to the newest members of the Franklin community. Some other ideas that may be in the works are recycled paper and ink to be used throughout campus.

Efforts of educating students don’t end in the Sustainability Office: professors are beginning to incorporate the ideas into their classes, classes that you wouldn’t expect to be learning about sustainability and the environment. Professor Vogelaar’s class, Environmental Discourses, is a Communications and Media Studies class that takes a different approach to learning and understanding the methods and reasons behind environmental issues and how they are presented and discussed. Professor Fassl’s Fashion and Architecture class will be looking at sustainable architecture as a source of inspiration and designing clothes using sustainable fabrics. Professor Vogelaar even said that “Franklin has a unique perspective on teaching and learning about the environment and sustainable efforts because we are in an international setting. We have the opportunity to learn how these issues are thought about from different countries, as well as different disciplines.” Dean Steinert Borella, who coordinated the SIGG bottle initiative with students and Professor Brack Hale, was especially pleased to link the First Year Experience to the new initiative: the summer reading, Three Cups of Tea, introduced sustainability as one of the primary themes of this year’s Crossing Borders discussions.

The student body seems, overall, to be enjoying the addition of the SIGG bottles on campus. One student commented that she was glad that the Sustainability Office has been created, because then “maybe students will start thinking about the issue and what their impact is.” Another student, Ashley Walters, class of 2011, said that “we will be receiving a discount from the Grotto and the North Campus Dining Hall, so hopefully this will be an incentive for students to use it (the SIGG bottles).” The same student even went on to say “hopefully they (the dining services and the school) will eliminate the use of PET bottles entirely.” The discount received at the dining halls, seems to be working to get the students to use their SIGG bottles. Instead of walking up to the new soda fountains and grabbing one of the paper cups, students are filling their bottles with their favorite soft drink. The addition of the water fountain in North Campus, a gift from the class of 2009, is also helping to encourage use. During the time between classes, the line that used to form at the coffee machine is now being formed by students waiting to fill their SIGG bottle with the refreshing, cold, Swiss water from the water fountain.

Any comments, questions, concerns or ideas about the new sustainable efforts happening on the Franklin College Switzerland campus can be sent directly to the Sustainability Office at sustain@fc.edu .

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