Course spurs students’ green micro-movements
Allie Ford tells classmates about her effort to save water at a
local hospital. Photo by JIM CHIAVELLI
The undergraduates in Corey Dehner’s Law, Policy and Society class, “Environmental Law, Policy and Social Movements,” got the chance to go green for credit.
Dehner, a lecturer and a Ph.D. candidate in the program, called it “an effort to demonstrate that one person can indeed catalyze change.” For extra course credit, she said, they had to make “a positive environmental change in their community.”
In late April, they presented their projects to Dehner and their classmates. Those projects, as self-reported:
Alexandra Anweiler: I have been coordinating with the president of the Symphony Road community garden to provide a rodent-proof composting bin, for residents to compost their food waste into usable soil for the gardeners.
Matt Blum: The goal of my proposal is to raise awareness among Boston tenants of their right to request the landlord or management company to install "water conservation devices" in the residence if the tenant is to be charged by the landlord for water use. This right is provided to tenants under Massachusetts General Law.
Max Choi: My project was to promote and inform students of Northeastern the benefits of recycling. Using humorous posters and video, to inform them where to recycle on campus and the benefits involved.
Allie Ford: I have attempted to have a Boston area hospital install dual flush toilets and waterless urinals in a new construction project. The proposal has been very well received, and is currently under consideration. I have more meetings to attend before it could be implemented.
Caitlin Gambee: I worked to assist my family's hotel/restaurant in going green. This includes the use of environmentally friendly cleaning supplies and renewable energy, and implementing effective compost and recycling programs. Then I tried to create awareness in my community via press coverage in order to encourage the other hotels in my area to do the same.
Chris Long: My project involved initiating a continuing recycling project at a 60-unit apartment complex on Huntington Avenue. After contacting the Boston recycling office, I learned that landlords, by law, must implement recycling programs at properties that their tenants live at, (as well as bear all costs associated with this), and I would urge anyone interested in setting up a program to get more information at www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/recycling/default.asp
Juel Swanston : My project is to conduct a cleanup throughout the neighborhoods nearby Northeastern. I may be working with the city on this cleanup. Keep an eye on the Northeastern News for more information on this green project. It is open to all who would like to participate.
“The students who chose to embark on this community project have both impressed and inspired me with their efforts,” Dehner said afterward. “They have taken the challenge seriously, and thoughtfully considered what important change they hope to facilitate.”