Nov 21, 2008
Media contact: Anne Russell
Cell: 604-798-3709
Office: 604-795-2826
anne.russell@ufv.ca
Student leader behind U-Pass initiative spreads word on sustainability
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| Students for Sustainability president Melissa Kendzierski. |
Melissa Kendzierski knows that if we’re going to start to live in a more environmentally sustainable manner, education has a big role to play.
And she got the chance to make that opinion known loud and clear, thanks to a $1,000 social policy research grant she received from the provincial government.
The UFV geography student, who is also the president of the Students for Sustainability group, is currently putting her beliefs into action by working with others on a campaign to launch a U-Pass for UFV students, which would give them access to transit in the Fraser Valley for a $40 per semester fee, along with access to recreation facilities and discounts at some Abbotsford businesses (with the hope of bringing businesses from other communities on board). Students will vote on the U-Pass proposal in a special online referendum Nov 24 to 26.
This current work is the natural progression from the funded research Kendzierski did last spring and summer and a living example of her earnest belief in the benefits that can come from students, professors, and other university personnel on issues.
“A lot can get done when all parts of a university community work together. Faculty are more empowering than they realize,” she says. “Students really look up to their instructors and they can inspire them to get involved in issues. The students then provide the spark and energy to keep those who’ve worked on something for a long time going. And administrative staff members have the knowledge and experience to guide and support the students.”
The social policy grants are intended to fund research into policy initiatives with a direct connection to a provincial government ministry. Kendzierski chose the Ministry of Advanced Education, because she was interested in investigating ways of “greening” the post-secondary system in B.C.
“The provincial government has set a goal of leading the world in sustainable environmental management,” says Kendzierski. “They’ve also announced that all public sector agencies are to be carbon-neutral by 2010. If the public post-secondary system is going to achieve this goal, it is vital that all public post-secondary institutions be involved in this greater environmental movement and create their own ‘green plans.’”
There are other benefits to running campaigns that raise awareness about environmental issues and that focus on university students, she adds.
“Ensuring that university students become more environmentally aware will have huge spinoff effects too, since they comprise the next generation of teachers, government workers, business people, parents, and professionals.”
And working together for a common cause also helps build socially sustainable communities, she notes, as people build social connections and learn valuable organizational and communication skills through campaigns such as the U-Pass initiative that she is helping to lead.
Kendzierski used her social policy research grant to coordinate a speakers panel on environmental activism on campus, presented by students from various universities at last year’s Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers.
“That turned into a really valuable open forum for the sharing of ideas.”
She also presented a paper on Service Learning, Environmental Advocacy, and Community Development to the Environmental Studies Association of Canada at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, held at UBC last spring.
Kendzierski, who grew up in Chilliwack and now lives in Abbotsford, is yet another example of a student who came to UFV with the idea of transferring to a larger university, but then found the atmosphere so positive she decided to stay.
“I’m very thankful that I ended up at UFV because you get amazing attention and support from your professors here. If you show initiative, they’re willing to work with you to achieve your goals.”
She cites geography instructor Michelle Rhodes as an example of a supportive faculty member.
Even if the U-Pass initiative isn’t approved in the student referendum — and she encourages all of her fellow students to log on to their student accounts and vote between Nov 24 and 26 — Kendzierski knows she will have helped to raise awareness about some important issues.
UFV’s Students for Sustainability group meets Tuesdays from 10 to 11:30 am this semester in University House on the Abbotsford campus. Meeting times may change next semester. For more information, email enviro@ufv.ca or check out http://sfs.myvalley.ca/, or find their Facebook group.
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