Find Your Voice

Sustainability students create change on campus, it's their thing. When they learned that we use 2.2 million paper towels on campus every year, they distributed fast-drying, organic microfiber towels to the Freshman class and awarded them (towels, not Freshmen) as prizes during Earth Day. Students have planted native gardens, developed our "green cleaning" and "green dining" purchasing standards, conducted greenhouse gas inventories, and made recommendations for everything from permeable paving to solar installations. However you choose to become involved, we are reminded of Alice Walker's words, "We are the ones we’ve been waiting for."

As participants in a community of faith, Principia College students not only aspire to be more responsible citizens of the planet, they also commit to being more active metaphysical stewards of all that God, Divine Love, has provided. In this conference presentation, Dr. Barry Huff, a member of the Principia College Religious Studies faculty, explores Biblical teachings as a foundation for living sustainably. He notes that an anthropocentric bias has too often prevented us from seeing the "spiritual democracy" that underlies God’s covenant with all of creation, and that the Bible offers clear guidance on rediscovering an empathy for the Earth.

Principia College students were well-represented in the 2019 Climate Strike, which attracted hundreds in St. Louis and millions globally, as people of good conscience gathered to be heard in more than a thousand cities around the world. In solidarity with people everywhere who walked out of their homes, their offices, their farms, and their factories to demand action on the climate crisis - so we, too, left our daily campus routine to advocate for a cleaner energy future. "It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent." ~ Madeleine Albright 

CROP Hunger Walks are "community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by religious groups, businesses, schools and others to raise funds to end hunger in the U.S. and around the world."  Each year, St. Louis joins more than 1,000 communities across the U.S. in raising money to help provide food and water, seeds and tools, and other sustainable development assets to communities in need - both locally and globally. "Walk. Give. Change the World."

Biannually, Sustainability faculty mentor students through a systems thinking exercise as a way to understand complex social and environmental challenges. Following an internal competition, the highest performing team travels to Oxford, UK to participate in the global "Map the System" competition. There they must articulate their findings in a way that people can understand, share, and learn from – key skillsets for those interested in creating systemic, enduring change!

Principia Internet Radio is an educational laboratory for Mass Communication students and provides a professional forum for discussing contemporary issues. Recently, a student pursuing degrees both in MassComm and in Sustainability researched and hosted a seven-part series on sustainability-related topics. Feel free to listen in!

Introduction: Gold+Blue is Green (28 min)  Climate Change & "Zero Carbon" (54 min)  Zero Waste (18 min)  Sustainable Food (47 min)  Sustainable Transport (16 min)  Sustainable Cities (52 min)  Sustainable Business (25 min)

Whether hosting a booth at the local Alton Green Business Forum (shown here), giving a presentation at a regional conference, or attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference ("COP20") as an invited Student Delegate in Lima, Peru, sustainability students are participating in the conversations that are most important to them. Not only are they learning to use their own voices, but, equally important, they are learning to listen to the voices and experiences of others, and preparing themselves to lead the 21st century.

The student-run PILOT magazine offers students a professional outlet for their literary talent, and in nearly every issue there is content on our sustainability program! Whether the focus is on an event, a speaker or conference, a hidden campus gem (like the Green Roof!), a contemporary issue or counterpoint, or an advocacy piece on the importance of composting or climate justice, we love that the magazine encourages students to find their voice! Learn more about the PILOT here.