Some of the ways our University makes living more sustainable and functional
By Winston Jones
Some of the goals Identified as being important to SOU’s Campus Sucess was:
Good Health and Well-Being
Quality Education
Clean Water and Sanitation
Affordable and Clean Energy
Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
When reviewing these subjects the topics will pinpoint and introduce many others today's good leadership and standards to show many others how to be a good communicable helper to other people around the world and other communities. This website mentions 5 different tasks the University of Southern Oregon will take upon and accomplish daily through certain lessons and tasks that sometimes block the direction we want to go.
SOU’s trying to meet good health and well-being goal in several ways. By checking in on our students it helps the staff better advise and rotate ideas into action to better help sustain our planet. SOU does this by sending emails with questionnaires and polls to check in on the mental health of each student. SOU’s staff treats students fairly and dedicates their own time to making students confident and knowledgeable to better help our environment. Finally, SOU has many off-campus opportunities with Outdoor leadership and working at The Farm, etc. The activities provided at SOU help many students get to know and create more active opportunities as well both physically and socially
SOU provides quality education through many different strands of courses. This helps our SOU students in many ways to help pursue a certain major and or subject that they are interested in. SOU has very high-quality staff who are willing to accommodate and provide guidance with each student’s needs, to get them to succeed in the future. The education provided at SOU gives students more resources and courage to engage in certain topics and subjects around campus. The socialization helps get the students familiarized with certain buildings and classrooms as well.
SOU’s programs are saving so many lives with the sanitizer stations and covid protocols. This has currently have been working like a charm and fewer people have gotten COVID because of the restrictions and safety measures taken place on campus. Whether it’s in the Hawk or in the commons with the school janitor mopping the floors and hallways in the dorms at SOU. It shows our staff and cohort care about cleanliness and health first!
SOU is very flexible and helpful when it comes to buying and supporting certain buildings on campus or in the City of Ashland with good ventilation and clean water stations to either wash your hands or drink from. The fact that our university is very consistent with our recycling, shows confidence and caring attitudes that we can all appreciate and learn from. These kind gestures have helped SOU save lots of money and give more electricity to the dorms and offices. The longer-lasting lights and the 3 different trash cans( Compost, Landfill, Recycling) guide students and staff around campus to keep our planet green.
SOU’s progress with rebuilding our facilities and dorm buildings on campus is incredible and should be something that shouldn’t go unnoticed. SOU’s Remodel has been beneficial to the students and Staff creating more opportunities to meet others and build great bonds with relationships that last a lifetime!
Our campus’s construction workers have done a great job on changing the school’s narrative and looking around, by providing more A/C installations in our buildings and classrooms. The way SOU is using less water and heat inside our buildings is great and should happen with other schools across the United States. The friendly actions displayed by SOU has set the bar for all standards for schools in Oregon and our campus lots of satisfaction for all the hard workers out there who deserve more recognition.
SOU has more events linked at
https://news.sou.edu/2021/10/sou-celebrates-campus-sustainability-month/ .
Some of the outstanding accomplishments SOU has had are for example:
-been a national leader in sustainability in higher education for more than a decade.
-the first campus to offset 100% of its water use through water restoration credits in 2012.
-SOU won a “Best Case Study Award” from AASHE in 2014 for the development of what is now The Farm at SOU.
- SOU consistently earns high rankings as a Bicycle Friendly University and a Tree Campus USA boasts several LEED-certified buildings,
-the first university in the nation to certify as a Bee Campus USA in 2016.
- SOU won the Excellence and Innovation Award for Sustainability and Sustainable Development from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in 2019.
-SOU has added three new solar array installations this year and now has a total of 12 installations on campus.
Some amazing things about our Campus’s resources are our many fundraisers and events to give many students opportunistic, encouraging words to keep our students motivated and satisfied with how the college experience at SOU is. The fact that SOU is going out to reduce water usage is also a recognition of how well the university has provided clean and safe ways to keep our environment clean.
In this paper covered SOU today, many have learned not to take for granted and shy away from the fact that our campus (SOU) is on the right track on creating a more opportunistic and safer/sustainable environment for their students and also their staff. This has led to many bonds and relationships with the students and has given good perspectives on how to value the things available, rather than things that are gone.