Campus teach-in focuses on sustainability

The Wheaton community will hold its second annual Focus the Nation "teach-in" on March 23-26 with a series of events designed to raise awareness about sustainability practices on campus and in our daily lives.

Focus the Nation is a national initiative that seeks to engage young people in conversations about pressing environmental issues. This year's focus is on sustainability.

Wheaton's program features a sustainability forum with a panel of faculty, students and staff; two faculty lectures; a resources-and-information fair, and more. Events will highlight an array of environmental threats and what individuals can do to make a positive difference.

Issues include the growing human population, urban sprawl, our diminishing water supply and wasteful energy practices.  Speakers throughout the week will include President Ronald Crutcher, SGA President Austin Simko, Assistant Professor of Political Science Thomas Vicino and Professor of Biology Scott Shumway.

"Focus the Nation is really about getting people involved and excited about the environment and sustainability," says Claire Anderson '09, a lead organizer of the campus initiative for the second consecutive year. Anderson said the idea was sparked last year by Jeremiah Murphy, professor of political science. Murphy died suddenly in December 2008, and Anderson said she and her fellow Face the Nation organizers keenly miss him this year.

"Professor Murphy was a behind-the-scenes kind of guy and was very involved in promoting student's ideas to help them evolve into action," said Anderson, who developed an independent major in environmental policy with the guidance of professors Murphy and Shumway.

Anderson hopes that this year's Focus the Nation will be "even better than last year, in remembrance of Professor Murphy, though it is difficult not to have his support and encouragement."

Wheaton's Focus the Nation project represents a collaboration by Anderson and other student leaders, the Green Initiatives Committee, the Student Government Association, the Sustainability Committee, the Wheaton chapter of the Roosevelt Institution and members of the faculty and staff such as Bernice Morrissey of the Provost's Office.

All Focus the Nation events are free and open to the campus community. A complete schedule (pdf file) is online. For more information on Focus the Nation 2009, visit http://focusthenation.org.