Creating Your Vision

What is your vision for the campus and/or community?

To create a sustainable eco-friendly environment at DePaul University. In order to establish a working program, I will work with established University organizations and Student Government to create a sustainable program. Once DePaul creates an environmentally friendly program, I would like to implement it in other Chicagoland schools, colleges, and universities. This will complement and further the initiatives the City of Chicago has to create an overall eco-friendly city that respects the environment.

Assessing Your Campus and Community

What campus/community problem does your blueprint address? What structures, practices and policies institutionalize the problem?

The negative impact DePaul University has on the environment has wreaked havoc in our community. Thus, I will address the amount of refuse produced by the DePaul community, landscaping and importation of exotic trees and plants, the construction of new buildings that are not LEED certified, the maintenance of buildings that are not environmentally friendly, the transportation of DePaul vehicles to reduce carbon emissions, and increase the amount of awareness throughout campus. Creative tactics to address these problems include employing DePaul's Environmental Concerns Organization (ECO) to organize students and address the impact DePaul has on the environment and the community. DePaul has not efficiently addressed the problems of waste and CO2 emissions and has not been pressured to change the policies and practices that allow them to occur. Thus, when DePaul is pressured to address ECO, Student Government, students, and other organizations on environmentally friendly tactics, we will begin to see policy changes that encourage recycling, promote carbon footprint awareness, and employ tactics that reduce CO2 emissions. Student Government will supply me with the current statistical data necessary to evaluate the impact the improvements for the program.

What communities will you work with?

• Campus community
• Local community

Setting Goals and Deliverables

• Goal 1: Reduce Waste by increasing the availability of recycling bins and reducing paper consumption
• Use biodegradable products (cutlery, cups, notebooks) at DePaul cafeteria and affiliated cafes on campus.
• Increase recycling bins by 30% around campus and place stickers on trash bins asking 'Can you recycle that?'.
• Create diologue between DePaul and Waste Services to ensure recycling.
• Reduce amount of paper consumption by 20% on campus by making recycled notebooks using one-sided paper and cereal boxes.
• Goal 2: Encourage students, faculty and staff to Reuse Products
• Distribute and promote reusable cloth bags and coffee tumblers to reduce use of plastic bags and paper cups (non-recyclable).
• Promote use of bringing own silverware cutlery to outdoor events and cafes instead of using plastic.
• Reuse the plastic grocery bags as garbage bags and invest in biodegradable bags for trash.
• Educate student body on availability to reuse products and increase amount of people using these reusable products for more responsible, sustainable environment using cloth bags.
• Goal 3: Solidify Eco-sustainable Program and launch DePaul Green
• Obtain administration approval/support for first-year course (introduces freshman to be more energy conscious and eco-friendly).
• Create LEED certified dorms (distribute energy friendly light bulbs and magnets and stickers to remind everyone to be energy conscious).
• Increase the percentage of first-year students who are energy conscious by 30% (use freshman emails to distribute surveys on how energy conscious they are after the program as compared to before the program).
• Create a campus campaign (DePaul GREEN) and hold meetings to maintain and promote eco-friendly tactics on campus.

What is your primary approach? Organizing

Why did you choose this approach?

We have the resources on campus; it is just a matter of organizing and collating them in order to form a more efficient program.

Did you have secondary approaches? What are they?

Activism through connecting the programs and stimulating a frustration on campus by pointing out what DePaul is lying about.

What will your tactics and activities be?

To launch awareness, I will be using Earth Week to create different programs of awareness for each day to stimulate interest. In addition to the event agenda, I am planning on hosting a main table in the Student Center to keep the participants organized. Additionally, the table will serve as the central information desk that will distribute information as well as eco-friendly tote bags and coffee tumblers.

Connecting Back to Vision

How does your strategy contribute to your vision for your campus and/or your community?

My vision sparks awareness on campus, which is a solid first start to gain a strong following. After I attain a group of committed individuals, we can begin to penetrate the administration and its policies. Following, the group of committed individuals will be able to forcefully influence current litigation and implement a required eco-friendly environment.

Resources and skills you will need

What skills do you need for this approach?

Networking. I will need to build a strong home base in order to work with the various organizations at DePaul. Though we have committed individuals, they each serve no purpose but to slowly teach a few individuals at a time of the current environment dilemma. However, I feel that with my strong organizational skills, I will be able to bring together each group in light of an overarching initiative.