By Michael LaFemina
Once in motion, it is not easy to change the track you’re on-especially if you’re not doing the driving. Students are not the conductors of the train that is the University, but we are passengers. And, as passengers, we have the right (and the responsibility) to say where it is we want to go and how we want to get there. Students for a Greener Hofstra is doing just that.
Throughout the summer members of SGH (full disclosure-I was one of those students) have been hard at work researching, meeting with administrators, and drafting a document that calls for a more direct policy towards environmental sustainability. I would like to publicly acknowledge and thank those who have been working with us and have already taken steps towards environmental sustainability at Hofstra: President Rabinowitz, who has been attentive and supportive of our work, the Facilities and Operations staff, who have supported us with data, ideas and guidance, Vice President Johnson, who has helped cultivate our ideas and Eisa Shukran, Director of Dining Services, who has listened to our relentless petitioning for more plates and less waste-thanks to Shukran, we now have a true plate-first policy and fully biodegradable packaging which are not only more healthy for us, but will not release poisonous chemicals into food, soil or drinking water. Thank you all.
Consequences of severe environmental degradation-pollution, global climate change, and depletion of natural resources-make environmental sustainability an issue that affects every living being on the planet. I would argue that this should be the number one issue on any list of concerns we, the youth, have for our future. To be clear, sustainability is commonly defined in the arena of politics (definition provided by the EPA) as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” It is about understanding how our behavior today affects our existence in the future, with the expectation of taking the necessary precautions to secure the preservation of future generations. In academia, we should seek to collectively understand sustainability as it pertains to every area of research and study and should strive to integrate the tenets of sustainability into our ethos as an institution and as a collection of individuals; therefore, we must assess every conceived action through this lens, ensure that the health and needs of future generations are not put into jeopardy, and pledge that we are doing our best to educate-empower-our entire community towards the understanding of a sustainable lifestyle. Every step we take towards a sustainable future is a step in the right direction. The longer we delay, the harder it’s going to be.
Some political scholars have called this the “civil rights movement” of our generation-our chance to realize that our lifestyle is in conflict with our true interests: a happy and healthy future in which we’re able to live where we want to live (rising sea levels, especially on Long Island, will jeopardize this), eat what we want to eat (annual temperature changes of even a small number of degrees will jeopardize the vitality of many crops), and raise children who can look to their futures as well (if it’s bad for us, what will it be like for them?). I tend to agree with this charge, but what will it take to get us all thinking differently? What will it take to get us all acting differently?
During his address at last January’s Climate Week symposium, President Rabinowitz pledged that he is committed to a responsible policy of environmental stewardship. We, the Students for a Greener Hofstra, look forward to continuing our work towards these ends and hope that you will consider joining our efforts. We’ve got to start somewhere; why not here? Everything depends on it.
Please e-mail us at [email protected] with ideas or if you’d like to come to our meetings.
All aboard?
Michael LaFemina is a master’s candidate for teaching English as a second language. You may e-mail him at [email protected].