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Environmental justice prioneer speaks to GRCC Dr. Robert Bullard is a
busy man. Not only is he the director
of the Environmental
Justice Resource Center,
he is also an accomplished
author, instructor, and
public speaker. He spoke
to GRCC students and
the general public at the
Diversity Lecture Series
recently. Bullard spoke on environmental
justice, a topic
near and dear to his heart.
He has been working in
the field since 1978 and is
considered a pioneer on the topic. His book “Dumping
in Dixie” is highly
regarded in academic
circles and considered
the first book to really
explain the concept
of environmental justice. “Having access
to a safe and clean
environment is a basic
human right,” Bullard
said. “Achieving
environmental justice
will make us a much
healthier and secure
nation.” Bullard said the
fastest growing part
of the environmental movement is
environmental justice,
which he describes as
a “grassroots, bottomup movement,”
encouraging people to
volunteer and make a
positive change in the
environment. “It is important
that we educate our
young people about
the environment and
get them involved in
solving the problem,”
Bullard said. With the Martin
Luther King holiday not too long ago,
Bullard had a few
thoughts about how
his organization tied
in with King’s. “The (Environmental Justice)
Movement
is an extension of the
civil rights and human
rights movement that
Dr. King played such
a pivotal role. We have
made great strides,
but all communities
are still not created
equal when it comes to environmental
protection,” Bullard
said. “We must do a
better job in protecting
the must vulnerable in
our society, namely
children, if we are
to achieve Dr. King’s
dream,” Bullard said. Bullard also mentioned that the environmental justice movement's leadership includes a large share of women of color, which is “different
form the mainstream environmental and conservation movement led by white men." In addition to speaking an author and speaker, Bullard
previously served on
the Environmental Justice Executive
Order, appointed by
then president Bill
Clinton. Beverly
Weathersby, member
of the advocacy group
Our Kitchen Table,
was in attendance for
Bullard’s lecture. “It’s long overdue,”
Weathersby said about
the environmental
justice movement. Weathersby said
it is important for people to become
more educated on
environmental issues,
even locally. “You
don’t hear about (US-
131) polluting the
city,” she said. The conference was originally scheduled for February, but was postponed to late March due to inclement weather. Smokers could be butted out After investigative
efforts by GRCC employees,
the speculation concerning
the campus becoming smokefree
may become a reality. Recently a committee,
known as the Ad hoc group,
examined the smoking policies
at other community colleges
and institutions to assist in
the decision regarding the
college’s current smoking
policy. GRCC’s standing policy
was established in order
to comply with the city’s
Clean Indoor Air Ordinance. Effective Oct. 1, 2007, the
law bans smoking within 10
feet of entrances, windows
and vents for all work sites
and public places in Grand
Rapids. According to grcity.us/ni, the Web site where city
information can be accessed,
the aim is to reduce exposure
to secondhand smoke and
protect public health and
wellness. “GRCC is committed to students success and
preparing our students for
the demands of organizations
and employers they may
ultimately become employed
by in their careers,” Cynthia Springer, GRCC's Vice President
President for Organizational
Development, said. “Wellness
is a workplace initiative that
students would benefit from
in their future employers.” The information collected
by the team will be presented
to senior management by the
end of April to determine whether GRCC should
become a smoke-free campus. Decisions regarding the
policy will be made by the
Senior Executive of GRCC
and the Board of Trustees. According to Springer, who
chaired the group, they found
that organizations across the
state are very committed to
wellness initiatives, which often include smoking
cessation classes and support programs. “These programs are
intended to be supportive not
punitive,” Springer said. “One
component of these initiatives
is to help employees stop smoking, which promotes a healthy workplace.” Focus areas of the group’s research include
survey feedback from employees and students,
campus design, policy, enforcement, wellness
education programs, and health coverage. The policy information the team reviewed of
organizations that have implemented smoke free
policies affect employees, visitors, and respected
patrons (students), which is why members from
various offices at GRCC are looking at the best
practices. The group’s members are from Student
Affairs, the Wellness team, facilities, and Campus
Police. Overall, the committee is comprised of
employees interested in the work and cause of
enforcing a stricter smoking policy on campus. “It’s been proven that healthy employees
increases retention, and I would hope to see the
college continue to support wellness initiatives
that foster a healthy workforce,” Springer said. Many institutions, including the Kalamazoo
Valley, Muskegon and Lansing Community
Colleges, post their smoking policies online for
public access. Though GRCC currently doesn’t
identify designated smoking areas, in
compliance with the city ordinance,
both KVCC and MCC offer these for
students. KVCC and Central Michigan
University punish smoking policy
violators, subjecting them to fines,
college sanctions, or city enforcement. At CMU, the fine for first time violations
of the 25-foot policy is $100 and can
increase up to $500 for the second
infraction. For GRCC students, the Grand
Rapids Neighborhood Improvement
Department is designated to receive
complaints of smoking violations, while
the city manager handles enforcement
and can issue tickets to an entire
institution or to the individual smoker. Earth Day celebrated by GRCC club The flowers are blooming
and the bright blue sky
brings forth a fresh clean
atmosphere. The earth day club at
GRCC is already thinking
green-friendly in order to
prepare for the upcoming
earth week. The current advisors,
GRCC professors Holly
Hoare and Leigh Kleinhert, are excited about the
upcoming events. They are
responsible for attaining
the resources and serve as
guides for the club. “We have more then
50 people enrolled in our
Blackboard site, but about a
half dozen regularly attend
meetings. Our goal this
semester has been to increase active membership,"
Kleinheart and Hoare said. The long-term goal of the
club is to offer an education
and service to the community
surrounding sustainable
activities. Earth week will be
starting on April 19 and is an
earth day sponsored event.
It will begin with a Grand
River water clean up and
sustainable lunch from 9:30
until 12:30. The movie, “What
a Way to Go: Life at the end
of Empire,” will be shown.
The following Wednesday
will be the continuation of
the movie. Gary Burbridge, director
of the Sustainability Council
at GRCC, said the earth day
club goes back to the 70s. As
a student himself, Burbridge
participated in some of the
activities. He’s been strongly
interested in “sustainability
around the campus.” “There’s been an ongoing
earth day on campus for a
very long time. It depends on
who’s involved, and it comes
and goes. There’s been an
earth day club for as long as
I can remember,” Burbridge
said. Also as part of the
director, he was able to help
put a few activities together
to help recycling. Currently, the school is buying more recycling
containers to distribute around the
school. “The thing the earth club has
done over the years is informational
and demonstrational things for the
college,” he said. “I think it was two
years ago that the club set tables
around the science building to
make students more aware of the
things students could do to be more
environmentally friendly.” President Juan Olivarez abides
to the Clean City Agreement in hopes
to increase the use of alternative
vehicles. First-year student Jackie Prins
was going to join the club, but didn’t
know how to get started. “I’ve always been interested in
environmental issues. I only saw it
on the Stall Street Journal and didn’t
hear anything else,” she said. Not many people are sure about
the decision to join a club due to bad
experiences. GRCC student Galen Carter once
had a bad occurrence when joining
an earth club. “I was expecting to help the earth
and it was something completely
different,” he said. When asked if the recycling
methods at the school are beneficial,
student Ben Fickel said there is a
better way to do it. “The plastic containers we
use aren’t even environmentally
friendly,” Fickel said. The college has an introductory
to sustainability class that will be doing
presentations on April 30 in the
ATC at 1 pm. The three E’s- environment,
economics, and equality- will
be discussed. The earth day club members meet once a month at 2 p.m. on Fridays in the Biology Learning Center at 106 Calkins for an hour. Collegiate receives notable awards at MCCPA banquet The GRCC Collegiate
newspaper has received
notable recognition for their
attributes this year from
the Michigan Community
College Press Association. Two staff members in
particular let their determination
glisten through both
print and Web page. GRCC student and staff
editor Charles Jurries was
the recipient for first place
Best Online Publication
against many other schools
in the district. Editor in Chief
Lonnie Allen was in the ranking
of third place Journalist
of the Year. The paper as
a whole placed second for
general excellence. “I didn’t put the Web site
together entirely, but when
I came in it still had to be
tested,” Jurries said. “At first
there was just one story for
each session, so I took it in
and eventually added every
story from every section.”
Jurries devoted a lot of
his free time to enhance the
Web site. “Through the weeks I
made corrections and feature
updates so it’s tough to
stay how long I spend on it hours
not minutes but hours.
I would say I did most of the
work, by large it’s mainly my
puppy.” Jurries said. The advisor, Steve Fox,
is proud of the hard work
Jurries has undergone. “Charles Jurries deserves
a lot of credit for
taking over the Web site this
year. He is the first Web Editor
for Collegiatelive.com
and has done phenomenal
work,” Fox said. “Adding
online-original contest, polls,
photos, and recently ads
makes the site interesting,
interactive, and visually appealing.
Charles deserves a
great deal of the credit.” Jurries was delighted
to know the award was in
his name. Susan Hood, a judge
and retired Oakland Press
worker, was proud to give
him the honor. “He’s clearly worked
hard and has dedicated immensely
to the profession. Such dedication is very important,”
Hood said. “The
spirit and attitude necessary
for success is there.” Allen was shocked to
hear his name be announced
against the many journalist
entrepreneurs. As Editor-in-
Chief, he embarked a large
responsibility. “To be nominated journalist
of the year and actually
win it was one of the greatest
honors that ever happened.
I never thought I was good
enough,” Allen said. Fox was also impressed
with Allen’s contributions. “While he is a leader
on the staff, Lonnie has not
created a divide. He has
allowed a sizable staff of
more than 20 to continue to
be involved, Fox said. ”That
in itself can be diffi cult on a
student newspaper.” The Collegiate team has
received a total of 21 awards,
three additional more than
last year. “Overall, I’m proud of
the work this staff has done
over my two years. I will
always remember The Collegiate
as the fi rst paper where
I was fortunate enough to be
the adviser,” he said. “Every
edition there was a strong
emphasis to be better than
the last one.” The Press Association conference took place on April 5 at Monroe Community College. News Briefs for March 26, 2008 Lost and Found Day Exam
Schedule Collegiate’s Blog The journalism blog is written by Steve Fox the Collegiate advisor. The blogs have been started as a labor of love (or spite, perhaps) with the sole intent of expressing the writer’s opinion. Visit http://www. Collegiatelive.com/blogs to read more! Campus Police Report for April 9, 2008 Larceny 3-17-08 Larceny
3-18-08 Damage To Property 3-20-08 Damage To Property 3-24-08 Damage To Property 3-24-08 Disorderly Conduct 3-25-08 WAIT! CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE NEWS ON PAGE 2 Speak Out! Have something to say? Sound off to The Collegiate at grcc_collegiate@yahoo.com for your tips or views on the current news, sports, arts & entertainment and opinion. |
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