Campus sustainability is much more than recycling that plastic soda bottle before walking into class, Robert Koester, director of the Center for Energy Research, Education and Service, said.
Ball State University's involvement in campus-wide sustainability provides an immersive learning experience, he said.
"Students become immersed in the experience of sustainability through courses and outreach organizations," he said. "The university becomes immersed through providing leadership and role modeling for schools across the nation."
The Cultured Minors Program allows students of all majors to learn about sustainability as a way of enriching their degree, he said.
Marketing and management professor John Vann said he teaches interdepartmental courses on sustainability, including Creating a Sustainable Future and Introduction to Sustainable Development, both of which are open to all majors. He also said he teaches Marketing 610, Business and Sustainability.
The courses offer an immersive learning experience for students because they involve taking their class knowledge and applying it to real situations, he said.
This semester, student groups are working on projects such as "greening" city and county buildings, neighborhoods and public schools, Vann said.
"In our classes, we master the material first and then let the students go out and apply that knowledge," he said.
Students can also get involved in greening the campus and their lives by joining student organizations, such as Students for a Sustainable Campus, he said.
Carissa Buchholz, president of the group, said it was the main environmental activism group on campus, but many others tackle sustainability issues as well.
The group has participated in events such as Focus the Nation, which was intended to raise awareness about environmental issues, she said.
"We make our members and other students realize their actions do count for something," she said. "It turns out really great."
Koester said Ball State's sustainability efforts had been nationally recognized.
Every department is required to have a sustainability plan, every new building must be LEED certified and some campus shuttle buses are hybrid-electric vehicles, he said.
KIWI magazine ranked Ball State among the top 50 "greenest schools in the country," in 2007, he said.
Ball State will play host to university representatives from around the country to talk about what each university is doing for sustainability at the Greening of the Campus Conference and the Indiana Summit on Sustainability for Colleges and Universities, he said.
"We're moving ahead on all fronts," Koester said. "The more we get the word out, the more people can get involved."
Greening the campus does have its costs, but quick paybacks make up for the initial spending, he said.
"If we are wise with how we use energy, materials and resources on campus, we'll see the benefits almost immediately," Koester said.
Students should pay attention to environmental issues because they are tightly linked to the economy, the job market and the country's social stability, he said.
"We must learn to be better stewards of environmental resources," he said. "It's important for us to pay attention and care about the future."
Vann said students also could take simple steps toward a more sustainable future including printing on both sides of their paper and choosing to ride the MITS bus or walking to and from campus instead of driving.
Voting for a candidate who is serious about sustainability is also a part of students' responsibilities, he said.
"There are a lot of things we can do to help," Vann said, "but educating ourselves is really what we need to do."
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