Lee Honors College Students Leading the Way in Addressing the Climate Crisis

Under the umbrella of climate change, the eighteen 2020 WMU Medallion scholars graduating this past April developed three outstanding service projects during their time at WMU:  Zero-Waste Athletic Events, Climate Cafes, and the yearly Student Sustainability Summit. This effort is part of the requirement that our Medallion Scholarship recipients develop and fully participate in a community service project throughout their time at Western. The environmental challenges their generation face prompted their desire to embark on ventures that address this pressing issue, and with the goal of handing their projects over to the 2023 Medallion Scholars, who in their first year in college were mentored by these seniors.

For many students, climate change is the most serious existential threat their generation faces. They understand that the magnitude of the problem requires education and action on everyone’s part, in accordance with their own individual situation. With this mindset, they developed projects that seek to educate others on sustainability initiatives, collaborate with campus groups in working toward a common goal, originate solutions for a sustainable campus, and, not least, be of support to one another. I notice that students for the most part don’t agree with the narrative that they are powerless to affect how this crisis will end up, or that powerful industries have complete control over their future. However, they acknowledge that sometimes they experience moments when they alternate between feeling hopeless and empowered about the planet’s destiny. They often mention the dystopia that both the news and the popular entertainment industries present as a hindrance to action, as it may make them feel unmotivated to do what is within their reach to mitigate the problem. These students champion the notion of each individual being a good steward of this planet regardless of whether people believe that the changes the earth is experiencing are man-made or not, or whether these changes are indeed happening. Their focus is on what is in their hands that they can do to slow down the warming of the earth or to prevent future damage for those who have reservations about climate change. As their faculty advisor and mentor said: “We have to operate agnostic with respect to individuals’ “belief” in climate change in order to make gains for the good of all.” They understand that in our interconnected world, even the smallest deeds can have a profound impact.

Three years ago, I was approached by the Medallion student leading the Climate Café events with an invitation to join the session. I had never heard the term “Climate Café” before and naively assumed that I had been invited to an informal social gathering to chat and drink coffee with students. Attending the meeting was an eye opener in two ways: First, coffee had nothing to do with the gathering, and second, it clicked for me how distressed students felt about the climate crisis. The apocalyptic vision of what the future would be - based on facts, no doubt about that - has generated a proliferation of feelings of despair and depression among college students. A safe space to discuss views and feelings about the subject matter allowed for the exploration of anxiety, fear, anger, helplessness, sadness, etc. The student leading the discussion and sharing the rules for the gathering wisely explained that this event was not intended as a substitute for clinical care, if needed. Participants agreed that gathering to talk openly about their fears provided a kind of lightness and moved them to do something about the problem.

Likewise, the Zero-Waste Athletic Events represent a significant undertaking in which our Medallions worked with several campus offices, unions, and a private contractor to reduce waste at these sports events. The Office of Sustainability supported their work, as well as the contractor of a compost company. This firm provided a compost dumpster, housed outside Read Fieldhouse. Medallions, along with student volunteers, coordinated work at the Western women's basketball games to encourage patrons not to throw food waste away in regular garbage bins,  but directed them instead to the composting bins, where other volunteers hand-sorted the waste to ensure it would compostable. Their ultimate goal is to demonstrate to WMU administration that this effort is feasible and to advocate for the university to take over and staff the effort at all Western athletic events. This plan is well within the realm of possibility, as demonstrated by the research that LHC alum and WMU professor of psychology Kate Martini conducted while in graduate school here at Western. Dr. Martini delved into developing a comprehensive plan for WMU to install metal waste dividers in all buildings across campus - one section for landfill waste and the other two for paper and plastic recycling, respectively - all of which are in place now in each building. Her vision and work paid off when WMU adopted her idea as part of a master plan to make the campus greener. As a side note, after earning a doctoral degree and working in private industry for several years, she returned to WMU as a professor of psychology and has graciously agreed to be a mentor to the 2023 Medallion students, who will be continuing the work initiated by the 2020 Medallion scholars.

I want to highlight too that the annual Student Sustainability Summit has grown each year in the number of attendees - students, staff members, alumni, faculty and administrators. This is an opportunity to once again address challenges of sustainability across campus. One of the presentations included a talk by the 2021 Medallion Scholars (12 students) who have partnered with the global nonprofit Clean Water for the World for their service project. This nonprofit builds and installs clean water filters in rural communities in need around the globe. Medallions have helped build filters and pursue clean water advocacy and education efforts around WMU and Kalamazoo Public Schools, and have even traveled to Guatemala to install filters. Their focus is on water preservation, calling attention to the fact that life depends on water, and water conservation depends on all of us. They remind us that billions of people are living without access to safe drinking water or just plain water for daily use right now. Students provided basic measures to save water daily, all within our own reach (taking shorter showers or turning the water off between steps, not letting the water from the faucet run, only doing laundry when you have a full load, etc.). The Student Sustainability Summit is one step forward in helping us take action at the individual level, the University level, and beyond. Students understand that sustainability must be dealt with through a multi-disciplinary approach.

According to Science @ NASA some 97 percent of scientists involved in climate research agree that it is extremely likely that much of the warming observed since the early 1900s results from human activities. But even if people don’t believe what the majority of the scientific community is saying, we all share an appreciation for the natural world and for every living thing on it that sustains us. Helping to preserve it is part of the love and respect we have for planet Earth. The Lee Honors College students leading these efforts are showing us that we have to be intentional about changing our everyday habits to contribute to the good of all. They are to be commended for making strides in our campus community and with upper administration to take positive actions regarding operations so that our campus becomes part of the solution for environmental change. Along with other groups on campus made up of students, faculty, staff and administration, they are joining hands to create and push for a green-leaning University. Congratulations to all of our amazing Lee Honors College students who are making a difference at WMU through their community service, creativity, leadership and care for each other - including their care for the natural world.