Tufts University
EN-3: Student Life

Members of the Tufts Sustainability Collective (TSC) plan events and initiatives that increase environmental awareness on and off campus. TSC is a student-run organization that aims to serve as the center for information about current environmental events on the Tufts campus. TSC also organizes a popular Sustainability Roundtable each semester that brings together other sustainability-focused groups and interested students from across the campus. TSC is comprised of several member branches: Tufts Climate Action, Food For Thought, Tom Thumb's Student Garden, and Sustainable Action Squad. Tufts Climate Action is a group dedicated to building leadership on and off campus and contributing to the climate justice movement. The group's campaigns have included natural gas, divestment, administration and academics, environmental justice, and agriculture, and members have engaged in activities such as rallying, marching, and demonstrating. Food for Thought is the Tufts platform for addressing contemporary food issues through a variety of lenses, including environmental, political, social, ethical, economic, and nutritional. Through weekly discussion and mindful action, the group seeks to educate themselves and the community on these issues, inform individual food-related choices, and engage with and improve the food systems to which we are connected. Tom Thumb's Student Garden on the Medford campus includes a garden plot behind the Latin Way residence hall and is focused on getting students outside, playing in the dirt, and eating real food. Sustainable Action Squad works on projects to make Tufts a more sustainable place. The group evolved from Tufts Against Plastic, the student-led initiative to get water bottles out of the Hodgdon On-the-Run takeout location and get affordable Nalgenes into the hands of students. (https://sites.tufts.edu/tuftssustainabilitycollective/) The Fletcher Energy Club, for graduate students at the Fletcher School, is a student organization dedicated to providing a venue for the presentation of energy-related research from those within the Fletcher community, both students and faculty, as well as invited guests. (http://fletcher.tufts.edu/FLEC). Fletcher GREEN works to better inform the Fletcher student body on cross-cutting, international issues that relate to the environment and energy, while also facilitating information sharing for those students interested in environmentally related careers. Their activities include hosting speakers, organizing forums and debates, arranging networking sessions, planning educational trips, and helping to coordinate environmental initiatives taking place at Fletcher. Fletcher Net Impact believes in using the power of business to make a more socially and environmentally sustainable world. The group hosts events, speakers, networking opportunities, and field trips focused on sustainability, social responsibility, innovation, and global shared value. Tufts Bikes is a student-run organization aimed at promoting bike culture at Tufts University through a bike sharing program, a bike repair shop, safety and urban riding classes, and group rides. (http://tuftsbikes.com/contact/)

Tom Thumb’s Student Garden is a branch of the Tufts Sustainability Collective and is comprised of a modest cluster of raised beds. The garden, comprised of a variety of plants, ranging from squash and melons to peppers and tomatoes, is tended to by student members and open to anyone in the Tufts community. The Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (USDA HNRCA) and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society opened an indoor garden to raise vegetables on Tufts’ Boston campus in January 2014. Located in the street-level lobby of the USDA HNRCA, the garden is an extension of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Garden to Table initiative, which provides hands-on learning opportunities and educational support to people interested in growing their own vegetables. (http://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/indoor-garden-installed-usda-nutrition-research-center-aging-tufts-university) The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine now has a community garden right in the middle of campus where employees and students can tend their own plots between classes and work. The garden was a student initiative and is run by students with assistance from farm staff.

The Rez is a student-run cafe on campus. They serve fair-trade coffee grown by small, independent farmers. The Rez also recycles all milk cartons, glass syrup bottles, and soy milk boxes. Students who purchase coffee from The Rez receive a discount for bringing their own mugs. (http://www.tuftsstudentresources.com/shop/tsr-cafes)

The Tufts Experimental College course "Experimenting with Philanthropy” offers students the unique opportunity to serve as both grant writer and grant maker. This course teaches philanthropy while providing over $10,000 in grants to local non-profits that the students select. The Experimental College has also offered courses such as “Microfinance,” in which students study and participate in microfinance investments. (http://www.excollege.tufts.edu/coursesCurrent.asp) A new Tufts Sustainability Investment Fund (SIF) will give donors the option of designating that their endowment gifts be invested in a way that acknowledges the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. Tufts launched the new SIF with seed funding of $1 million from the university. An advisory group consisting of staff, faculty, students and members of a professional investment office is being appointed to determine the definition of sustainability and consider the investment options available. See more at http://now.tufts.edu/articles/boost-tufts-environmental-goals

The university holds a number of major events for students related to sustainability. These include the following: CIERP’s Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program’s Research Seminar series features a variety of presenters who speak on topics ranging from climate change and sustainability development to ecosystem management and energy. The Center for International Environment & Resource Policy is housed within the Fletcher School. (http://fletcher.tufts.edu/CIERP/Events) The Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) hosts a UEP Colloquium Series intended to bring together students, faculty, affiliates, alumni, and friends to share, learn, inspire, and provoke. (http://ase.tufts.edu/uep/news/NewsDetails.aspx?newsTypeId=3&newsId=210) Tufts’ Environmental Studies Program organizes a weekly Lunch and Learn series that features Tufts alumni, graduate students, faculty, and undergraduates participating in research, as well as non-Tufts speakers from the environmental and sustainability fields. (http://as.tufts.edu/environmentalstudies/events/lunchlearn.htm) The Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE) hosts a Brown Bag Lunch series on environmental topics. (http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/events.html) The Tufts Energy Conference is a two-day energy conference that brings together experts from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors with students and professionals to discuss critical global energy issues. The conference is entirely organized by students from a broad range of backgrounds in engineering, international affairs, urban planning, and economics. (http://www.tuftsenergyconference.com/) The Office of Sustainability hosts events each year, including the annual Eco-Rep Symposium in November 2014. http://sustainability.tufts.edu/programs/ecorepresentatives/ecorep-symposium/2014-eco-rep-symposium-at-tufts/ Many additional sustainability-themed speakers and events are frequently held at Tufts (e.g., http://environment.tufts.edu/?pid=45&c=60, http://environment.tufts.edu/events/past-events/) Additionally, many student groups host sustainability-related events.

In September 2014, The Beehive Collective brought their hand-drawn, large-format portable murals and told the story of "MesoAmerica Resiste!" as part of Tufts' extended orientation program for undergraduate students. http://beehivecollective.org The Tufts Art Gallery frequently curates sustainability related exhibits (http://artgallery.tufts.edu/exhibitions/past.htm) including “Seeing Glacial Time: Climate Change in the Arctic” from January 30 - May 18, 2014. The exhibit examined how eight contemporary artists employ the "real time" of photography to visualize the largely imperceptible, gradual changes in "glacial time" from the bellwether Arctic region. A number of educational events, including curatorial walkthroughs, were held throughout the exhibition. In February 2014, a reading of Chantal Bilodeau’s play SILA, about climate change in the Arctic and its impact on the world, was performed at Tufts. In November 2013, the Campus Consciousness Tour featuring Grouplove came to Tufts. The Tufts Eco-Reps worked with non-profit Reverb to host a table at the Eco-Village for the Tour prior to the Grouplove concert. Lucy and Jorge's traveling "Food-Water-Life" exhibit came to Tufts at the end of 2012 and explored major concerns that define the 21st century: biodiversity, environmental conditions, climate change, and exchange among peoples. http://artgallery.tufts.edu/exhibitions/traveling.htm

The student-run Tufts Mountain Club (TMC) is one of the largest student organizations on the Tufts Medford campus and organizes trips every weekend. TMC maintains the Tufts-owned Loj in New Hampshire for use by students and other members of the Tufts community. Many students use the Loj as a base camp from which they enjoy a wealth of activities including hiking, skiing, swimming, rock climbing, and apple picking. The Outdoor Resource Center shares outdoor knowledge and techniques with the wider Tufts community by hosting clinics and training sessions on campus. The Tufts Wilderness Orientation is a 5-day experience for incoming freshmen before school starts. Each year, over 250 freshmen come to Tufts in late August to embark on 33 student-led backpacking, canoeing, hybrid, rock climbing, and trail crew trips. Groups are completely self-sufficient for the five days; they carry all their own food and equipment, do all their own cooking, and have as little contact with civilization as possible. The Tufts Wilderness Orientation staff is a highly selective group of students, including 30 support staff members and 66 leaders in 2014. (http://www.tuftswildernessorientation.com/ )

The common reading book for the incoming undergraduate class in 2012-2013 was "The Story of Stuff" by Annie Leonard. Programming was organized around the theme of the book throughout orientation and the rest of the year, including a campus lecture and visit from the author. Incoming students were also invited to submit an essay to the Story of Stuff essay contest to win a $300 gift certificate. (http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/blog/2012/10/16/story-of-stuff-essay-winners-and-honorable-mentions/)

The Green House, Tufts’ sustainability-themed housing unit, was established in 2013. The Green House is intended as a focal point for the environmentally-minded community on the Tufts Medford campus. By bringing eco-friendly students, organizations, and faculty together, they promote the spread of knowledge and passion for sustainable living. The house provides a living space for environmentally interested students and a meeting place for the larger Tufts community. Students living in the Green House are required to work on sustainability-related research or a project around the campus, and residents host sustainability-focused events throughout the academic year. Tufts’ sustainability director serves as the advisor of the Green House. (http://ase.tufts.edu/reslife/housing/special.asp#green)

A number of offices and departments on campus offer sustainability-related student employment and internships, including the Office of Sustainability, Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE), the Environmental Studies Program, and Dining Services (catering).

Such a pledge was taken by groups of students graduating in 2006 and 2007, but as it was a student-organized campaign, it has not been maintained.