The petition
We are living in a time of heightened awareness about the consequences of the over consumption of our natural resources. It is important to start somewhere to change our patterns of waste that have dangerous long-term implications. Therefore, we are starting with our immediate shared environment, the School of Social Work.
Protecting our natural resources is a social justice issue. Eventually, we will all be affected by the exploitation of our natural resources. Disadvantaged populations suffer the greatest consequences from our consumption patterns currently, and they are more vulnerable to future consequences should we continue our current patterns. As an urgent social justice issue, concern with resource over consumption should be a priority in the School of Social Work.
As students in the School of Social Work, we are very concerned about the use of resources, particularly paper products, throughout the school. Our concerns include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Faculty and student use of paper handouts (i.e. power point slides printed with one slide per page and single-sided printouts)
• Required readings that are only available in printed form rather than electronic form (i.e. course packs)
• Faculty and student use of newsprint (flip charts) during presentations and lectures rather than the whiteboards and chalkboards
• Misuse and non-use of recycling containers
We seek improved, responsible use of resources in the School of Social Work and ask that concrete steps be taken to address the current misuse of resources by faculty, staff and students. These steps include the following:
• Print all power point slides with a minimum of six slides per page
• Use recycled paper for printing
• Make double-sided printing the default setting on all printers
• Use newsprint (flip charts) sparingly and not for everyday note-taking
• Make available electronic copies of all required class materials
• Ensure recycling bins are present in every classroom
• Add glass recycling bin to McGreggor Commons
• Create a feedback system for reporting waste in the School of Social Work, including a mechanism for reporting waste and inclusion on course evaluations
The following pages hold signatures of concerned members of the School of Social Work community. We look forward to partnering with the student body, faculty, and staff to create a greener and more sustainable School of Social Work. Thank you for consideration of our requests.
Sign the petition
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