Site Archives:
ESW-RPI History, Membership, Attendance, Past Projects, Traditions, etc.
Since its founding in May 2005, ESW-RPI has hosted a number of projects with varying degrees of success. In cases where a project was unsuccessful, it was mostly due to a shortage of members since the club was relatively new on campus. Historically, attendance at meetings has also been low, but the start of the Fall 2007 semester saw a record high of 20 or so in attendance… which means… people have been getting the word out! Good work everybody and keep talking about ESW! Invite your friends too!A possible reason for low attendance at meetings may be the fact that meetings tend to center around a lot of “talking” and not a lot of “doing,” which sometimes leads members to stop coming because they feel they aren’t doing anything. Also, an overemphasis on fundraising in past years has lowered interest in club participation. As a result, ESW-RPI is now Union funded as of Fall 2007 and looks forward to changing its focus toward making RPI sustainable rather than placing most of the emphasis on raising money to send overseas. If all goes well, the first full-year budget will be approved for the 2008-2009 school year, with big plans for interactive workshops, public awareness campaigns, and speaker forums.
ESW-RPI Vision and Mission Statement
ESW-RPI’s vision is twofold:
- To make RPI known for sustainability - both in campus operation and in the educational curriculum, especially the engineering program;
- To promote sustainable development in small towns and villages in third world nations by partnering with local communities and applying sustainable, design-based solutions to help meet that community’s specific needs, whatever they may be. This is essentially the mission of the National ESW organization with which we are affiliated.
Our Mission Statement is “to pool the knowledge, skills, and experience of RPI and the surrounding community to discover and solve environmental, social, and economic problems, recognizing the importance of sustainability.”[1]
Ecologic
Ecologic is the environmental club at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Our mission is to make progress toward a greener world and educate the community about environmental issues. Ecologic operates out of Sage 2410, which is known as the Environmental Education Center (EEC). Members of the RPI community can stop by the EEC during open hours. E-mail us through the EcoHotline, or visit our main website. Check out our projects if you’re interested.
Student Sustainability Task Force
The Student Sustainability Task Force (SSTF) is a body created by the RPI Student Senate to address broad issues of sustainability on campus. It is a focal point for all student clubs and interested parties on campus, and aims to transform RPI into a sustainable institution.
Terra Cafe
The Terra Cafe is a service provided by RPI students to enhance the community of RPI while educating our peers of the benefits of supporting the local and organic movement. This full service, sit-down restaurant, is committed to serving local and organic foods. Each week will feature a new menu with a meat option, vegetarian option, and a dessert.
It runs every Wednesday during the semester, from 11:30am-1:30pm, on the second floor of Russell Sage Dining Hall. The menu every week can be found at the Terra Cafe Homepage.
Engineers for a Sustainable World
Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) is a student-run organization focused on solving environmental, social, and economic problems, both in the surrounding community and the developing world. Ecologic and ESW are working very closely on a number of projects, including the Recycling Project.
Vasudha
A living and learning community designed to bring together first-year undergraduate students from all fields of study with a shared interest in the relationship between the Earth and those life forms present on our planet. The living and learning environment allows students to pursue coursework and to engage in co-curricular activities that involve exploring our bio-geo-chemical surroundings from the perspective of a student, a researcher, and a humanist.[1]
This is a one-year, freshman experience only, with no additional commitments required for involvement in subsequent years. Furthermore, all of the course credits earned in the living and learning community are applicable towards graduation requirements, either as required core courses or free electives. Students in the program will be making normal progress towards their degree requirements.
