Students Advocate for a Greener Campus
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Dozens of students enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine this Earth Day by lounging on the HUB lawn, playing yard games and listening to live music. They sat on the bright green grass, breathed in the fresh smell of spring and embraced the comfortable setting around them.
Maintaining a clean environment in a town occupied by several thousands of students is no easy task. Many students, administrators, faculty and staff work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the quality of local resources stays pristine.
This Earth Day, read about three students who are using their talents and energy to advocate for environmental change at Penn State.
Finding the Dirt on Local Agriculture
When William McCausland committed to the University of Arizona to play rugby after high school, he never imagined that two years later he would end up founding an agricultural magazine in State College.
McCausland, now a junior, started at the University of Arizona as an environmental science major, but he switched his major several times throughout his first two years of school.
“As I was going through my experience, I was trying to narrow down my field and fell into plant science,” he said.
After his second year, McCausland decided to transfer to Penn State where his twin brother, Jack McCausland, attends. Jack, a junior also studying plant science, said that it felt strange going to different schools for freshman and sophomore year, and that “it’s been really great” having his brother at Penn State.
Both brothers said that they became passionate about sustainability as they took an environmental systems and societies course at their high school in Downingtown, Pa.
“When I took that class, it was the first time I felt motivated to do more than just be present,” Jack explained. “I wanted to participate as much as possible.”
William and Jack McCausland both said they keep in touch with the teacher who taught the class, Michael Podlesney.
“Hands down the best teacher I’ve ever had,” William said. “He engaged with students, got them involved and instilled a passion for environmental sustainability within them. Besides being a great teacher, he was a great person.”
Upon arrival to Penn State, William wasted no time getting involved with Student Farm Club. He said that through the club, he has explored topics such as food insecurity, food systems and sustainable agriculture. He also began thinking about environmental issues in a new way.
“My perspective changed when I came to Penn State,” he said. “It molded me onto a path where I became more passionate about journalism and activism.”
William said that he was inspired by the story of an environmental activist in the 1960s who operated under the pseudonym, “The Fox.” The activist, James Phillips, plugged sewer outlets, placed caps on top of smokestacks and raised awareness of the environmental issues affecting the Fox River.
As William learned more about environmental advocacy and his interest in journalism grew, he decided to start an agricultural magazine at Penn State. He organized the magazine through Student Farm Club and named it “Green Fox Magazine” after James Phillips.
“Through the magazine, I want to replicate James Phillips’ passion for the environment, but do it in a way that’s a little more legal,” William said.
He recruited a staff of Student Farm Club members and communications students to produce content and created a website to publish their work. William said he was surprised and happy to see how many students are interested in writing about agriculture.
The magazine’s first articles were published in mid-April, and more content will continue to be released.
“People in the United States have a skewed view on agriculture,” William said. “The role of agricultural journalism is to educate people on sustainable things that are going on within the agricultural field, as well as unsustainable things going on, like a lack of regulation in farming.”
William’s first article highlighted nearby farmers markets and encouraged the community to get involved with local agriculture.
“The more people know about that stuff, the better for local businesses,” he said. “It encourages farmers to keep producing food because they have a market to sustain.”
As the Green Fox team and reach grows, William said he is learning to delegate responsibilities to his staff.
“He wants this to be as collaborative as possible and he’s doing a great job,” Jack said. “He did more in his first semester than I did my first three years here.”
Reimagining America’s Culture
While McCausland’s team is investigating the environmental impacts of agriculture, one graduate student is encouraging the university to rethink transportation methods on and around campus.
Raymond Joseph Friend Jr., a Ph.D. student studying mathematics, is involved in several sustainability councils on campus and advocates for changes in the transportation sector. Friend spends most of his time working with the Student Sustainability Advisory Council where he presents sustainable proposals to university administrators once a semester.
“We’re fighting against a culture of car dependency,” he said. “It’s hard for people to imagine a different way of existing.”
Friend said the university needs to prioritize accessibility, affordability and sustainability within its transportation systems.
His specific recommendations include achieving zero collisions between cars and non-drivers on campus, reclaiming as much space as possible from car use and storage, making public transportation accessible and affordable for all Penn Staters, encouraging ride sharing to and from Penn State campuses and setting navigability standards that make each campus traversable.
“We need to design with all people in mind so these things aren’t just helping a subset of the population,” he said.
Friend said the university is sometimes responsive to recommendations and that Transportation Services is revamping the current bicycle master plan on campus, reevaluating how Penn Staters can access and navigate all modes of transportation and reinventing the ride sharing experience for employees and commuters.
“Bigger picture ideas, like committing the university to better navigability standards and making more car-free reclaimed spaces, are a little more controversial and are hardly responded to as much,” he said.
Friend explained that the university has a “lot of moving parts,” so developing a successful proposal is complicated.
Alysha Ulrich, a junior at Penn State and vice chair of the Student Sustainability Advisory Council, said that Friend understands the logistics of the systematic issues the council is trying to address and has an eye for what is feasible versus what is not.
“The way that [Friend] presents his work is always so eloquent,” she said. “He understands ahead of time the feedback he’s likely to get from admin and the questions he’s likely to get about money and logistics.”
Friend said that his interest in sustainable transportation came after seeing how other urban places operate differently. At University Park, many grocery stores are miles away from campus, making them “inaccessible” to students who do not have cars.
“People think of cars as the epitome of American freedom,” he said. “But there is no freedom when we don’t have a way of traveling to get basic necessities that doesn’t involve a fossil fuel-intensive, expensive and statistically dangerous two-ton vehicle to get there.”
Friend spends most of his time working with administrators through the Student Sustainability Advisory Council, but he said it will take the efforts of students, faculty and staff alike to make major changes to university operations.
“When students are put into an environment that gives them a choice [of transportation], they are going to take the choice that is fun, safe and accessible to them,” Friend said. “I think there is a lot of hope that this place could be way more sustainable in its transportation services. It just needs to provide those things to students to make use of and incorporate into our culture.”
Supporting Advocates from the Ground Up
Another member of the Student Sustainability Advisory Council has seen a different side of environmental advocacy on campus. Elie Wagner, a senior studying global and international studies, has spent lots of time interacting with students on a grassroots level as an EcoRep, in addition to being the chair of SSAC.
Wagner grew up in Turbotville, Pa., a town with a population smaller than the occupancy of Thomas 100. She said that she never learned about sustainability at home and was an outsider when it came to her sustainable habits, like being vegetarian.
“I got here and was immediately validated by a group of like-minded people that showed me that what I care about matters,” she said.
After growing up with little environmental education, Wagner said she is passionate about giving people the opportunity to learn about the environment in high school and college.
As an EcoRep, Wagner is able to speak directly with students about how their decisions affect the environment and the quality of life of others.
“Peer education introduces people to sustainable language and plants the seeds of what they could be doing differently,” she said.
Wagner said she enjoys the “instant gratification” she gets when students tell her they changed their habits because of EcoReps’ programming.
Wagner serves on the recruitment committee of EcoReps and supports students who are training to join the program. One of her mentees, Emma Montemurro, said that everyone in the program knows Wagner’s name because she is so friendly.
“She made EcoReps awesome for me,” Montemurro said. “She always makes an effort to talk to new people. Even when she doesn’t know someone, she’s always super friendly.”
In her other role as chair of the Student Sustainability Advisory Council, Wagner is also making an effort to make everyone feel welcome. Over the past year, Wagner has introduced socials and ice-breaking activities into meetings.
“I’m really proud of the community that I created within the council,” she said. “It’s such a learning environment for all of us.”
Ulrich explained that Wagner’s warm leadership motivates members to stay accountable, which improves inter-council relationships and makes the council appear more credentialed to administrators.
“[Wagner] will talk to you like she’s your best friend and it makes everybody feel more comfortable,” Ulrich said. “You can be really interested in what we’re doing with sustainability, but what makes or breaks the experience is the connection and communication.”
Wagner said that as she graduates alongside her peers, she hopes they continue to educate themselves, hold each other accountable and remember that “what they do makes an impact” on the environment and people around them.
