Blog by: Angel Quicksey, OrgSync Campus Liaison, Claremont McKenna College

Today’s world is smaller, flatter, and more connected than ever before. Places and people that once seemed remote are now only a click away and virtually right next-door.  Neighbors that once chatted through a fence are now chatting online through a social network such as Facebook, Twitter or AIM. Young people – students, especially – use the internet to stay connected, as it’s easier than ever to reach out to the classmate across campus, parents back home, or even the friend made while studying abroad.

Yet, students can use such technologies to reach out in a different way. Young people on campuses around the world already promote social justice and create change. Clubs raise money for relief actions in war-torn countries, they prod politicians and their fellows to take action on environmental issues, they support campaigns for AIDS relief, clean water, and health care. But if one club on one campus can raise a few thousand dollars for Darfur or Burma or the environment, imagine what could be accomplished if those students came together to accomplish something even greater. This is where social media comes in. Recall what students can do without our new technology:

•    The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s – the group, begun at Shaw University, staged many of the sit-ins and freedom rides of the civil rights movement and had a leading role in the1963 march on Washington.
•    The students of the 1970s and ‘80s who protested apartheid in South Africa – beginning with students of Stanford University in 1974, these young people divestment from companies involved in South Africa during apartheid. By 1988, 155 universities had partially or fully divested funds from the country.

These students saw a need for change and combined their efforts across the nation to guarantee civil rights in America and abroad.

Today, students have even more tools available to them to create social change. Through the internet, particularly social media sites, students can easily spread information by broadcasting videos, photos and headlining news.

The power of these sites has become especially apparent in recent weeks as students and opposition leaders in Iran used Facebook and Twitter to spread their message and capture images, like the death of Neda Agha-Soltan.

While perhaps not facing the same immediate strife as the people of Iran, many college and university students tackle other important issues at home and abroad. Yet, most campus organizations seem to work independently, though they may be working toward a similar goal.  Why not take advantage of this new age of social networking and connect with others at your college, in your area, or in a similar branch of your club? Then, once these connections are established using social media, you can create larger events, campaigns and movements that will greatly impact your campus, your nation and even the world.

April 22, a Day to Think Green
Today is the world’s 39th annual Earth Day.  This is a time to reflect on your daily routine and ask yourself whether or not you can make [at least] a few minor adjustments to help minimize our negative impact to our planet earth.

2009 marks the beginning of The Green Generation Campaign.

It’s core principals are:
1. A carbon-free future that is based on renewable energy that will end dependency of fossil fuels, including coal
2. Increasing individual’s commitment to responsible consumption
3. Creation of a new green economy that lifts people out of poverty by
a. Creating millions of quality green jobs
b. Turning our global education system into a green one

Join OrgSync & Our Commitment to Saving the Earth, One Campus at a Time!
“Our users save thousands of sheets of paper annually.”-Clifton King, OrgSync Software Developer

By using OrgSync’s online forms to manage promotional and financial activity organizations are saving paper, and are not only saving money, but limiting the destruction of forests, and eliminating unnecessary waste.  Essentially, our users are saving the Earth.

Currently OrgSync users have saved over 33,000 sheets of paper through online form submissions!  This number does not include the paper our users save using OrgSyc’s online tools, such as our event and meeting attendance tool and our online invoice and receipt system.  Way to go OrgSync Users!

OrgSync Goes Green
OrgSync takes pride in implementing Green Initiatives into its company culture with simple eco-friendly habits that accumulate over time and work toward reducing toxic greenhouse gas emissions and conserving energy.  In a conscious effort to conserve gas, OrgSync encourages carpooling and does not send our booth materials separately to conference venues prior to our arrival.  Furthermore, we limit our paper use by telecommunicating with our employees and clients.  Also, energy saving light bulbs are used throughout our office and all monitors are turned off during non-office hours to limit unnecessary electricity usage.

Below are a few pointers on how to help further your campus’ Green Initiative:
1. Recycle paper, plastic, aluminum, electric waste such as cell phones and computer parts, printer cartridges
2. Generate a Compost
3. Educate others on the importance of your Green Initiative and how to get involved!
• The most important thing is to educate students on how their daily activities affect the earth and its inhabitants
• Your goal should be to develop    environmentally responsible individuals to help create a long term positive effect on the earth
• Provide your students with frequent opportunities to get involved in your efforts
• For instance, providing recycling bins around campus is a constant reminder for students of the importance of recycling
4. Buy Recycled Products
5. Address Concerns & Set Specific Goals for your campus
• Create a plan to increase your campus’ Green efforts
•Plan of action that you can realistically implement within one year

• What are the possible obstacles to your Green plan
• List sources/support
• List of possible rewards for participants
• Delegate tasks/director positions to specific committee members
• Ask yourself “How will we involve students?”

You can find more information on Earth Day & Green Initiatives at:
http://earthday.net/ednoncampusorganizersguide

www.gogreeninitiative.org

Happy Earth Day!

OrgSync is pleased to introduce Jessica Pettitt as a guest Blogger. Jessica and I both started working at the University of Arizona at the same time a little over two years ago.  We had very little in common but somehow became friends. Jess left UA to become a Social Justice and Diversity consultant for CAMPUSPEAK, and continues to be a great resource for me.  Jess has worked in South Carolina, Oregon, New York City, Arizona, and is now thriving in Northern California. I am proud to say Jessica has been nominated as the best Diversity Artist by Campus Activities Magazine for 2008 and 2009. Please vote for her here.

Jessica will be conducting a webinar February 25 (10:00 am PST) Titled: Social Justice: When Diversity Isn’t Enough. The webinar is free, and you can register for it here.

Jessica’s blog entry is an excerpt originally published in the Association of Fraternity Advisors newsletter.
Pettitt, J. Social Justice: When Diversity ISN’T Enough. Perspectives. A Publication for members of the Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA). Spring 2008, pg. 12-13.

When Diversity ISN’T Enough

At a young age, my dad drilled an Albert Einstein quote into my head, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The quote may sound similar to our work in Student Affairs. How many times have I expected fellow college administrators to respond in a new way to a crisis only to be disappointed by similar results? We can make new flyers and T-shits, sponsor different speakers, and develop a strategic plan, but if we are doing the same thing we should not expect something different to happen. The same can be true for our approach to diversity and issues of social justice. Over the past decade, the verbiage used has included tolerance, acceptance, celebration and awareness, evolving into today’s buzz word, inclusion. The foundational concepts of multiculturalism and diversity are used to relate to issues of recruitment, retention, matriculation and community relations of diverse students and perspectives. The question remains whether these initiatives actually manifest into something widely different. Are we experiencing different results in chapters, departments and on campus? Despite an ever-evolving language, a consistent and comfortable sense of complacency remains supported by our institutions and colleagues. For “real change” to occur, we must be willing to become uncomfortable – to become aware of the active role we have in supporting the current system of rhetoric.

The motivation for this article stems from my visits to numerous campuses responding to ‘blackface’ theme parties, hate crimes and other acts of violence, or requiring mandatory diversity trainings for new chapter members over the past eight years. I am not, however, talking about affirmative action, desegregation, or media relations; my purpose is not to bring up feelings of inadequacy or defensiveness. My purpose is to acknowledge that to “walk the talk” and embrace concepts of social justice we must take risks, name our assumptions and judgments, and acknowledge our individual role in supporting systematic oppression. It means making a conscious change to the normal rhetoric. I must recognize my own privilege and my active role in perpetuating a system from which I benefit. Social justice is exciting and optimistic because each person can make a difference to society, it costs nothing, and there is no expectation of perfection. The cause is hidden, but the result is well known…