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Three times a year, I receive a magazine from my undergraduate college with updates on departments, alumnae, and the campus. This summer's edition included an article on the college's commitment to a 7-year plan to address sustainability and environmental stewardship on campus.
This isn't exactly new, since the college signed on to the United Nations' Earth Charter in the 1990s, but reading about the steps they've taken in the last couple years and what they hope to accomplish in the next seven made me very proud.
There are a number of issues surrounding private colleges in the US that need to be addressed, and taking on a sustainability initiative doesn't diminish my college's need to look into these other problems, but I find hope and encouragement in this step that they're taking.
One of the religious studies professors is quoted in the article as saying, "It's important that we do the hard work of learning what is real, even when it is scary. [...]It takes honesty and courage to open our eyes to see what is real in the world. Things are broken and need repairing." That's an attitude that spills over into other areas of equity, and it's a perspective that reflects what I found so empowering about attending the school: we were seen as strong, intelligent, capable women who would change the world in ways large or small but always for the better.
I think it's all the more meaningful to me because this is a Catholic school and they view this new initiative as an outgrowth of their faith, not in opposition to it. So much of what I see in climate activism is a great deal of secular liberal supporters with an outpouring of derision and dismissal from conservative Christians. The reality is more complex, I know, but there are so few examples of people or organizations that make their own space in this subject instead of falling into one box or the other. As (basically) a democratic socialist and a Christian who also sees addressing equity and climate activism as an outgrowth of my faith, it feels really good to know I'm not alone.
This isn't exactly new, since the college signed on to the United Nations' Earth Charter in the 1990s, but reading about the steps they've taken in the last couple years and what they hope to accomplish in the next seven made me very proud.
There are a number of issues surrounding private colleges in the US that need to be addressed, and taking on a sustainability initiative doesn't diminish my college's need to look into these other problems, but I find hope and encouragement in this step that they're taking.
One of the religious studies professors is quoted in the article as saying, "It's important that we do the hard work of learning what is real, even when it is scary. [...]It takes honesty and courage to open our eyes to see what is real in the world. Things are broken and need repairing." That's an attitude that spills over into other areas of equity, and it's a perspective that reflects what I found so empowering about attending the school: we were seen as strong, intelligent, capable women who would change the world in ways large or small but always for the better.
I think it's all the more meaningful to me because this is a Catholic school and they view this new initiative as an outgrowth of their faith, not in opposition to it. So much of what I see in climate activism is a great deal of secular liberal supporters with an outpouring of derision and dismissal from conservative Christians. The reality is more complex, I know, but there are so few examples of people or organizations that make their own space in this subject instead of falling into one box or the other. As (basically) a democratic socialist and a Christian who also sees addressing equity and climate activism as an outgrowth of my faith, it feels really good to know I'm not alone.
Prepare a Face: 
touched
touchedLove Song: Gemma Ray - Caldera, Caldera!
swell a progress