Pastured Poultry Portland Press

Freshly written! SGA approved!

A new policy on how human and non-human animals can coexist respectfully will be added to the next edition of our Student Handbook.  This language was crafted through student, staff, and faculty collaboration and approved by our Student Government Association.  We hope to articulate our community’s ethic regarding the treatment of animals and continue to express our environmental mission as we use animals in an educational context.

Right now, the policy applies to our FFA chickens, critters in the animal room, and that sort of thing- but it also encompasses any animals we welcome to campus through future agricultural, wildlife, and captive wildlife care and education efforts.

Some thoughts from Gary Zane, Vice President for Student Affairs:

With the continuing expansion of our farm infrastructure and increased use of animals for many of our academic programs, we thought it prudent to develop a policy that would encourage proper use of our facilities and their resources, provide a safe environment for animals and our community members, and increase the awareness of the farm (and other animal facilities) and their role in the educational mission of Unity College.

The full language of the policy follows.

Unity College’s Policy for Campus-Owned Animals
Purpose
Any animals located on the Unity College property serve both educational and experiential purposes. Students have the opportunity within classes and campus clubs to interact with the animals either formally or informally with permission. The UC campus policy has been set in place to uphold the highest possible standards of care for the campus animal collection. This policy supports Unity College’s Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee which operates in accordance with federal and state laws.

Policy
All campus-owned animals are to be respected and treated ethically. Violations of this policy include but are not limited to: tampering with, abusing, teasing, killing, tormenting, or inflicting any type of cruelty to campus animals.  All signage specifying rules for access and conduct in animal areas should be followed.  Animals are not to be removed from their enclosures unless specifically directed by the appropriate staff.  Animals should not be fed by persons other than their caretakers unless directed.  All Unity College students are encouraged to behave responsibly and in a way that promotes animal welfare and helps this campus to have a successful animal program for all majors.  Students who observe an animal in distress, a violation in progress, or one that has already occurred are encouraged to report this situation immediately to public safety.

Compliance
Penalties for violating the UC policy for campus-owned animals may include mandatory community service, fines, suspension of on-campus privileges and in some cases, suspension or expulsion from the college. Students may also be held legally accountable for violation of local, state, and federal laws.

For more information- connect with the Sustainability Office or Student Affairs.

Earth Week Get Out

We had a blast this year!  …see for yourself.

Many thanks to all the students, clubs, offices, and faculty who sponsored a wide range of Earth Week events and to the entire planning crew: Sierra Marchacos, Dan Orlando, Makayla Syas, Martin Maines, Rebecca Neville, Jes Steele, Jesse Pyles, and Kalani Thorpe.

Residence Hall Waste Audit – Challenge This Week

Martin Maines, Unity’s Recycling warrior, has been hard at work developing a range of tracking and reporting systems to really understand our waste diversion rates and campus recycling habits.  The good news, by the tremendous effort of our stellar recycling crew and the support of recycling users throughout campus, our recycling stream is really clean.  Our waste diversion rate — that is, all campus waste that we keep OUT of the landfill, averaged about 42% last calendar year.  Not too shabby, but definitely needs some work.

A February waste audit of residence halls revealed just how much better we can do.  The above image shows the percentage of waste found in residence hall trash that could have been recycled if disposed of properly (in green).  Waste Audit results by residence hall have been posted in each hall for users to see the details.

This week, we’ll be checking residence halls again and the most improved hall will win a pizza party — sponsored by Student Activities and our Earth Week planning team. Come out to the Earth Fair on Friday at 3pm to see the results.  Additional prizes if you correctly guess the most improved residence hall.

So keep your trash recycling free!  And get that recycling out of the landfill!

A call to change higher education to address the sustainability challenges of this century

 

Upcoming Earth Week Challenges

$175, $100, Solar Cooker

Commuter Challenge Monday | 2-mile Challenge this weekend.

Res. hall students be on your best recycling behavior next week and you could win a party.

Earth Week Challenges

Complete daily challenges during Earth Week and you could win one of three grand prizes!

1. $175 in food gift certificates to UHOP, Crosstracks, and Spanky’s
2. $100 in UC bookstore certificates
3. Tulsi Solar Cooker ($300 value)

EARTH WEEK DAILY GET OUT CHALLENGES!

Come to the Student Center each day from 11-12:30 to get a stamp for your completed challenges!

Complete 3 out of 5 challenges and be entered into a drawing to win fabulous prizes.

Drawings will take place at the Earth Week Fair on Friday, April 19 from 3-5 (need not be present to win).

MONDAY COMMUTER CHALLENGE

• Leave your keys at home! Walk, bike, or carpool to campus on Monday morning. -OR-
• Take the 2-mile challenge. Between Friday, April 12 at 11am and Monday, April 15 at 11am, don’t use your car for trips under 2 miles (that’s all of downtown Unity). http://goo.gl/maps/emOlR

TUESDAY CARBON CHALLENGE

• Complete the Conservation International online carbon calculator ahead of time or at the Student Center Earth Week Station.  Carbon calculator online here:  http://goo.gl/izVFL

 WEDNESDAY AG CHALLENGE

• Correctly answer all five questions on the campus ag quiz online or at the Student Center Earth Week Station. Quiz online here: http://goo.gl/NAqSg

THURSDAY COMMUNITY CHALLENGE

• Town of Unity Photo Scavenger Hunt! Get photos of you at: 1. Mac’s Hardware, 2. moose statue, 3. Unity’s Thrift Shop, 4. Volunteer Regional Food Pantry, and 5. on the Com
  mUnity Bikeway Trail. Upload photos to the Unity College Sustainability Facebook page. -OR-
• Join the 1-3pm service project at Triplet Park in downtown Unity.  Hike to Triplet Park via the campus CommUnity Trail at 12:30. Depart from Student Center.

FRIDAY RECYCLING CHALLENGE

• Join Unity’s Recycling Crew in a residence hall waste audit to kick off the Earth Week Fair at 3pm.  Submit your guess for most improved waste diversion to get your challenge stamp.