By Jeff Ryan
The polar bear started it all. I remember distinctly the day that little white bear appeared on my PilotsUP portal as the focus of a new "Climate Change & Sustainability" module (interestingly, it cannot be moved or hidden).
I grimaced at the choice of such a cliché poster child and at the addition of a relatively useless feature. After all, it is little more than a link to a single organization's Web site. Information about other departments (Moreau Center for Service & Leadership) and organizations integral to the university's mission and values are more hidden. Interestingly, this new section was even placed above the links to students' course Web sites. Little did I know just how telling this subtlety was of what lie ahead.
Also new this year is President Beauchamp's signing of the "American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment," which dovetailed with the creation of a new Presidential Advisory Committee on Sustainability. Both recognize that the University can take specific and timely action to lessen its impact on the environment. That sounds good to me. I recycle and ride my bike. I think sustainability (as a general principle) is an admirable goal.
Now, fast forward to the week of Jan. 31, 2008. The windows of the engineering building are covered with green posters and student volunteers buzz in and out of classrooms spreading the word about something called "Focus the Nation." Some students are annoyed, most are just curious about this sudden bout of activism on a normally calm campus.
Focus the Nation was to be an unprecedented event to educate and to dialogue about how to address climate change and sustainability. The arrival of the "green democracy forum" is heralded with an eco-terroristesque "banner" flying outside the cove depicting the Earth engulfed in flames. Intelligent.
I am impressed with the unprecedented interdepartmental collaboration and passion that sprung up from this typically soft-spoken and often ambivalent community, but I decry the growing lust to be a leader in sustainability that is overshadowing the University's prior commitments and mission.
True, sustainability work may fall within the tenets of "Teaching, Faith, and Service." After all, "Use of the ... resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives ... [I]t requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation" (Catholic Catechism #2415). But at what cost is the University continuing this crusade?
ASUP (the largest contributor) allocated more than $30,000 for the event, but the actual cost to students, numbering tens of thousands more, was glossed over. Based on Banner data, at least eight of the teach-in sessions throughout the day bumped students from their classrooms.
Consider this: based only on the cost of tuition ($27,500 per year) and assuming a 15 credit course load, the 316 students (Banner data) whose classrooms were taken for Focus the Nation lost a combined $29,311.51 of the education that they paid for! This doesn't even include voluntarily cancelled classes or staff and faculty time dedicated willingly to the event. I know that many staff and students did not appreciate this forced contribution to the cause.
As foretold by the appearance of the polar bear on my portal page, the University's pursuit of status and a green image is pushing aside the academics it was founded on and the students are paying the price. Academics should still come first. After all, the skills we learn in our scheduled classes such as engineering, chemistry and political science are what arm us to tackle the world's challenges. Focus the Nation could have been held on a weekend or evening so as not to interfere with classes and tie-up paid staff and faculty time. Past evening climate change lectures were well-attended.
Amidst the recent poster waving and political rhetoric, I wonder: are we leading in the best way possible? Was the time and money well-spent, or could the University show stronger leadership through concrete projects? Bike racks are overflowing and the Moreau Center for Service & Leadership (note that last word!) is relegated to the confines of Saint Mary's.
Maybe it was a good marketing opportunity, but in the rush to "Focus the Nation," did we lose focus of ourselves and our overall mission?
Jeff Ryan is a senior physics major
