MOST IMPORTANT TO CAMPUS EFFORTS, SAYS JEREMY GLEASON, IS A SENSE of momentum. "It has been said that in order for a sustainability movement to be successful, the movement in itself must be sustainable," he says. That means "projects and events that keep the ball rolling on environmental awareness." Kleindienst agrees, saying, "I think people are coming around to the idea of recycling and more environmental issues — but there is still a lot of work to do." Most of that work is informing students how and why their actions matter to the environment, Kleindienst says.
Students should "know and understand the importance of the steps they can take to lessen their impact on the environment in their everyday lives," says HEAG's Ferrara. "That said, it is essential to keep students and faculty on the same page about sustainability initiatives and to support students whose interests lie in campus policies." In the end, what Ferrara identifies as HEAG's mission is Hamilton's as well: "to work from the top down and the bottom up — getting students engaged in large-scale policies and raising everyone's awareness of their daily environmental impact."
