The Student Sustainability Coalition started to establish its role on campus Wednesday with a four-hour sustainability fair in the EMU Concourse.
The coalition, which is a network of about 15 campus groups focused on green efforts, decided to host the fair after the ASUO established the Student Sustainability Coordinator position, filled by Louisa de Heer just before winter break. On Wednesday afternoon, the coalition groups and allies set up tables to speak with students and, de Heer said, to promote the groups as a unified front.
“The goal is to, in one place at one time, show the (University’s) community the number and diversity of initiatives that are going on in relation to sustainability on campus and to recruit for new participation in those groups — to build their membership and their strength in numbers,” de Heer said.
The Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group had a table to raise awareness of its food safety campaign and to educate students.
Megan Comer, a University freshman, said OSPIRG was working on a petition that advocated against government subsidies for corn by-products and other less healthy foods.
“The problem is that the food that’s bad for you is cheap,” Comer said.
OSPIRG’s petition is part of the group’s larger food safety campaign, started this term in response to the news that subpar chicken was being used in federally subsidized school lunches.
Paul Cziko, University graduate student and representative for Connecting Eugene, also tabled for awareness about the issues involved with development of Willamette riverfront property. The group opposes a current plan to develop land west of the Autzen Footbridge into an office park.
Cziko said he liked the idea of working with the other sustainability groups.
“I think it’s great. I think, to be able to work together, we’ll be able to make a bigger difference, have a bigger impact and bring awareness to these types of issues,” Cziko said.
A representative for LiveMove, Francesca Patricolo, said the group works to make campus and the community more bikeable and walkable. She said the group hosts speakers throughout the year and sends students to other fairs and conferences.
At Wednesday’s fair, LiveMove was asking passing students questions about bike safety.
De Heer was excited about the results of the event.
“The goal was awareness … I consistently saw a lot of students stopping by,” de Heer said. “In that sense, I’d say it was a real success.”

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