South Dakota State University
EN-3: Student Life

SDSU has several student organizations that focus on sustainability. There are also several organizations that include aspects of sustainability as part of their purpose (but not sole purpose). Those are also included in this list.

Student Sustainability Council: SSC envisions and supports a prosperous, equitable, sustainable, and ecologically healthy campus community at South Dakota State University. SSC will collect, evaluate, and disseminate information and tools to increase the understanding of sustainability.
Engineers Without Borders: Engineers Without Borders helps improve the quality of life in disadvantaged communities through the implementation of environmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects, while developing internationally responsible engineering students.
Water Environment Federation/American Water Works Association: To promote student interest in the environment.
International Relations Council: To promote the development of understanding between the peoples of the world and to inspire this understanding through various programs.
Ducks Unlimited, Jackrabbit Chapter: To inform students about North American Wetlands and the many important ways each person can help in preservation, restoration, and protection.
SDSU Chapter of Pheasants Forever: SDSU Chapter of Pheasants Forever is committed to the conservation of pheasants, quail, & other wildlife by focusing on habitat improvement, community involvement, public awareness & education.
Agronomy & Conservation Club: Promote awareness and professional growth among students interested in agronomy and soil conservation related fields.
Ecology Club: To promote awareness and further SDSU's involvement in ecological issues.
Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Club: The SDSU Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Club is a student organization with a long history of professional and public service. The Club is a student chapter of The Wildlife Society and a student subunit of the American Fisheries Society. The Club was organized in 1940 and has been active since that time. The Club meets bimonthly during the academic year.
Habitat for Humanity, Campus Chapter: Provide students in the university community the opportunity to eliminate poverty housing in partnership with Habitat projects in the US.
Rotaract: The purpose of Rotaract is to provide an opportunity for young men and women to enhance the knowledge and skills that will assist them in personal development, to address the physical and social needs of their communities, and to promote better relations between all people worldwide through a framework of friendship and service.

The SDSU Student farm was created to provide a place for learning about sustainable food systems. The spring and fall sections of SDSU's Local Food Production course were essential to planning, planting, and harvesting. The Student Farm is a collaboration between students and their academic department. At the farm, students learn sustainable and organic farming techniques. The Student Farm was active FY14. University personnel are working to organize the farm once again.

In 2014, GreenWeek was held in the Student Union with 49 informational booths and 22 speakers. Speakers ranged in sustainability aspects, covering topics such as food waste prevention, facility sustainability, prairie landscapes, sustainable agriculture, sustainability history, fracking, sustainable landscaping, alternative energy, green chemistry, corporate sustainability, plastic, and Europe's green belt. Booths mainly came from student organization projects, Facilities & Services, and research projects. Students were certainly welcome to the event, but students were not the only intended audience. This event is institution-governed.

The Griffith Honors Lecture culminates the Common Read, by having the author of the chosen book present. As SDSU's past three Common Reads have dealt with some form of sustainability, the authors presentations were included in this section. The Griffith Honors Lecture is organized by both students and the institution. Students were the intended audience. http://www.sdstate.edu/honors/griffith-honors-lecture.cfm

Eastern South Dakota Water Conference: Water sustainability is vital to many aspects in South Dakota life. This conference focuses the latest knowledge of water management and use. This is an institutional governed conference.

The SDSU Student Summit on Diversity & Inclusion focuses on student leaders and providing them an opportunity to gain an understanding of different cultures, races, religions, sexual orientations, and gender. The summit is institutionally governed and is geared towards student leaders. All students are welcome to the event.

Each year a Common Read is selected. It was originally designed to raise the level of academic challenge at SDSU; enhance our awareness of diverse perspectives; increase faculty and student interaction; and encourage, serve, and promote enriching, engaging educational experiences both in and outside class. In addition, the author of the book speaks on campus.

The past three years of Common Reads, have touched on sustainability in some aspect. The books and their descriptions are as follows:

2014-2015: Good Food Revolution
The son of a sharecropper, Will Allen had no intention of ever becoming a farmer himself. But after years in professional basketball and as an executive for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Procter & Gamble, he cashed in his retirement fund for a two-acre plot just outside Milwaukee's largest public housing project. The area was a food desert with only convenience stores and fast-food restaurants to serve the needs of locals.
Despite financial challenges and daunting odds, Allen built the country's preeminent urban farm-a food and educational center that now produces enough produce and fish year-round to feed thousands. Employing young people from the neighboring housing project and community, Growing Power shows how local food systems can help troubled youths, dismantle racism, create jobs, bring urban and rural communities closer together, and improve public health. Today, Allen's organization helps develop community food systems across the country.
An eco-classic in the making, The Good Food Revolution is the story of Will's personal journey, the lives he has touched, and a grassroots movement that is changing the way our nation eats.

2013-2014: The Heart and the Fist
Like many young idealists, Eric Greitens wanted to make a difference, so he traveled to the world’s trouble spots to work in refugee camps and serve the sick and the poor. Yet when innocent civilians were threatened with harm, there was nothing he could do but step in afterward and try to ease the suffering. In studying humanitarianism, he realized a fundamental truth: when an army invades, the weak need protection. So he joined the Navy SEALs and became one of the world’s elite warriors.
Greitens led his men through the unforgettable soul-testing of SEAL training and went on to deployments in Kenya, Afghanistan, and Iraq, where he faced harrowing encounters and brutal attacks. Yet even in the deadliest combat situations, the lessons of his humanitarian work bore fruit. At the heart of this powerful story lies a paradox: sometimes you have to be strong to do good, but you also have to do good to be strong. The heart and the fist together are more powerful than either one alone.

2012-2013: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

During the Summer of 2015, SDSU provided a stipend for a student to serve as the Brookings Sustainability Council Intern. The intern's task included interviewing assistance programs and assessing whether the 22.9% poverty rate was an accurate representation of the City of Brookings. She also assessed how many places incorporate local food into their businesses.

The only sustainability graduation pledge offered was in the spring of 2014 as part of GreenWeek, a week creating awareness of sustainability and sustainability opportunities on campus. 28 graduating seniors pledged. The pledge was from the Graduation Pledge Alliance and went as follows, “I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work.” A separate pledge was also created for returning students, faculty, and non-faculty exempt/civil service employees.

I, Too, Am SDSTATE was a campaign in FY14 that focused on microaggressions at SDSU. The student campaign's aim was to make students better people by reminding them that they are responsible for what they say.

Information covers 3 years of data.