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In official recognition of the school’s duty to engage in
sustainable practices, Pomona College has adopted a number
of policies to help guide the school’s actions and ensure
that it continues to uphold its environmental principles.
Environmental Quality Committee
The Environmental Quality Committee (EQC) is a student club
and committee of Associated Students of Pomona College (link
to ASPC site) (ASPC) dedicated to improving the
environmental sustainability of Pomona College’s campus, in
recognition of the College’s environmental policy. It also
works to engage and educate the campus community in issues
of environmental sustainability. The EQC is chaired by the
Environmental Affairs Commissioner, an annually elected
member of ASPC and its executive council. This Commissioner
also serves on a variety of committees, including the Food
Committee and the Coop Committee (overseeing the operations
of the Coop Store and the Coop Fountain). They also serve as
student representative to the Board of Trustees Building and
Grounds Committee. The EQC and the Environmental Affairs
Commissioner are stipulated in the ASPC Bylaws and
Constitution.
The structure of the EQC may change each year, and is
generally up to the purview of the Environmental Affairs
Commissioner. In previous years, the four main members of
the Committee (who must be approved by ASPC) have been the
chairs of sub-committees, which take on specific topics
(e.g. landscaping and water use, energy, food, recycling).
However, there are no requirements for how the Commissioner
structures the committee.
The activities of the EQC and the Environmental Affairs
Commissioner have generally fallen within these main areas:
- Education: EQC is responsible for educating the campus
community about environmental issues, with emphasis on those
that directly affect campus. For example, campaigns
regarding the use of organic and local foods in the dining
halls or the campus’ carbon dioxide emissions. Educational
activities include bringing speakers or other such events to
campus, writing articles for campus publications (e.g. EA
Newsletter, The Student Life), tabling in the dining halls,
and many other options. This can also mean increasing
outreach about college programs, such as the Sustainable
Building Policy (link to file: Sustainable Building Policy).
- Operational projects: EQC is partially responsible for
initiating, implementing, and monitoring campus operational
projects and program to promote the sustainability of the
college. Good examples of these projects are listed in the
college’s Environmental Policy (link to file: Pomona College
Environmental Policy), though many of these are somewhat out
of the reach of student groups. Common projects have
included helping to coordinate and expand the college’s ink
cartridge recycling program, getting more recycling and
trash cans on campus, working with Grounds to plant more
native and drought-resistant plants, negotiating the use of
organics and other environmentally-friendly products in the
dining halls, the Green Bikes program, the setting of campus
printers to double-sided printing by default, and many
others. See Student Work and Activities (link to file:
Student Work and Activities) for a more complete list of
student work.
- Funding: EQC’s budget, requested each year as part of
ASPC’s annual budget process, may be used to help fund
environmentally-related events and projects not directly
programmed by EQC.
- Representing campus interests: EQC, but more specifically
the Environmental Affairs Commissioner, is responsible for
coordinating student interests regarding environmental
issues, and reporting those interests to ASPC, college
administration, the Board of Trustees, or any other relevant
college group. To do this, EQC may seek informal ideas or
may engage in petitions, proposals, etc.
Past projects completed by the EQC can be seen on the
Student Work and Activities page.
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