Environmental Advocacy at Whittier College
Who will fill the Senate’s vacated seat?
Although the first year of college brings many memories, junior Maddie McMurray has one clear recollection from an Associated Students of Whittier College (ASWC Senate) meeting during her freshman year. It was the spring of 2015 and an organization had come in for a funding request for an event that included a dunk tank, which wasn’t a problem aside from one thing: California was still in the peak of its drought.
McMurray spent the majority of her time during the summer between her freshman and sophomore years drafting a piece of legislation that would amend the position of Environmental Action Advocate (EAA)into the ASWC Constitution in an effort to make the student governing body more environmentally conscious in their decision-making.
Along with the ASWC Vice President, Academic Affairs Representative, and Treasurer, McMurray resigned from her position earlier in the Spring 2017 semester, which has left the student body searching for the next EAA candidate, who still has yet to be appointed.
The resigning members, who hold positions on the Senate’s voting table, all had their own reasons for resigning — ranging from dissatisfaction with leadership within the organization to declining mental health. Immediate reaction from many was the concern for the sudden lack of voting members that remained on Executive Board. Although it is unusual, and challenges morale, for a student governing body to be without a Vice President and Treasurer, the relatively new role of Environmental Action Advocate is particularl vulnerable with Senator McMurray’s resignation.
… there was funding for a dunk tank in the middle of a drought..
The EAA is a member of the ASWC Senate voting table that gives a voice to environmental concerns on campus. “Whoever holds the chair has the expectation of being involved on campus in terms of sustainable actions or improvements,” said McMurray.
Although the positions sits on the Senate’s voting table, the environmental advocate is a non-voting member who acts as an advisor to the other members of the table. While still a new position, the presence of an EAA signifies the desire of the Whittier College student body to make the campus into a more sustainable one.
Although McMurray resigned her position mid-semester, she explained that the move had been in the works for some time. “My resignation from the table was premeditated. I had been planning to send out the application form for the new EAA since about November. ” said McMurray. “It was my intention that my protégée would have time to sit on the table and prepare for the upcoming semester, and have time to ask me questions, essentially getting comfortable with the role.”
This will mark the first time in the position’s history that it will be open for application to the entire student body. The EAA position has been active since Spring 2016. McMurray is the first and, so far, only EAA. “I noticed that Senate was lacking [an environmental] voice in the spring of my freshman year, when there was funding for a dunk tank in the middle of a drought,” said McMurray. “I then worked on drafting a piece of legislation that would amend the position into the constitution. To me, that just seemed interesting that Whittier was trying to be environmentally conscious but our student government was going against the mission of the school.”
While there are organizations such as the Sustainability Club and Food Recovery Network on campus, the EAA exists to push all governing bodies on the Whittier campus to be environmentally-conscious.McMurray believes that has been the case since she created the EAA role. “Obviously, my opinion is probably biased, but I think that the passing of the bill in general brought a lot of awareness to sustainable efforts,” said McMurray. “The moment my chair was created was the moment I noticed that funding requests were more cognizantly put together.”
Since the role of EAA is a non-voting member, the organizations on campus that promote sustainability are not technically constituents of the EAA. McMurray is heavily active in these groups, also acting as Vice President of the Sustainability Club, which she says she has big plans for following her resignation from Senate. Since the previous EAA was active in most of the clubs on Environmental Committee, it is likely that the next person to get the position of EAA will come from one of the organizations represented by this committee.
As of April 10th, a successor to McMurray as Environmental Action Advocate had yet to be appointed by the ASWC following the application process and review.
