Greening the Campus.

• Author: Breyman, Steve
• Position: Green Party in the university

Linking Green Theory and Practice in the University

How can college and university faculty and students realize Green values in their work? How can they engage in Green action in their formal institutional roles? Some Green faculty members conduct research--on social movements, for example--with direct relevance for Greens as activists and party politicians. Green students construct campus organizations to press Green campaigns. Green professors teach courses about Green philosophy and politics. Academic Greens intervene in on- and off-campus controversies as Greens. This article briefly reports on a couple of parts of one comprehensive response to the existential Green questions unfolding at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, since the early 1990s. I begin with a description of the mobilization of EcoLogic, the student environmental organization, source of many participants, abundant ideas, and much energy for the Greening of Rensselaer Initiative (GRI). The second section describes our current greening projects. I conclude with some reflecti ons about contemporary Green life on US campuses.

Building a green student organization

A strong Green student organization is essential for extending the Green social critique and inserting Green action into campus politics.

EcoLogic, our student environmental organization, has been at the center of the Greening of Rensselaer Initiative. Through fundraising, negotiations with administrators, and much hard work we have made genuine progress toward building an environmentally responsible university, publishing a newsletter, establishing a recycling program, building an organic garden and greenhouse, and several other projects.

Our numerous victories have generally been hard-fought. EcoLogic ran afoul of Student Union rules against Union-funded groups participating in political action or controversies for its opposition to the Green Island incinerator, and for having Green Party links on its web site. The group was placed on "probation" by Union officials.

The student-run Environmental Education Center (EEC) has had difficulty finding a home. The constant pressure for office space bodes ill for the EEC to ever find a permanent home. The student-held Greening Coordinator (GC) and Water Conservation Coordinator (WCC) positions have undergone some transformation and difficulties. The latter has been transformed simply into the Conservation Coordinator to allow the person to work on energy...