University of California, Irvine
EN-2: Student Orientation

Sustainability is included prominently in new student orientation in the following ways:

FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS & TRANSFER STUDENTS

-- During Summer 2017 New Student Orientation (Student Parent Orientation Program), the GSRC outreached to incoming freshmen and transfer students at a student led informational booth. All students were provided an opportunity to participate in the sustainability orientation services. 1,550 incoming freshmen and transfer students were directly served by the informational booth.

-- During New Student Orientation at the start of Fall 2016, Housing student and professional staff of 250 (serving 8964 undergraduate and graduate residents) received 4 hours of sustainability training to incorporate into their resident orientation, programming, and hall practices for the academic year and included the following key learning objectives:

1. Know the Housing Mission/ Vision/ Values related to Sustainability: http://housing.uci.edu/sustainability/index.html
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the definition of Sustainability including its interrelated environmental, social, and economic dimensions.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the current state of the planet related to concerns about water, waste, and energy,
4. Know what the UC system, UCI, and UCI Housing are doing to address these challenges. Get the contact information for key campus partners.
5. Receive targeted presentations on Zero Waste and Sustainable Dining at UCI.
6. Articulate how their employment position relates to the Housing value of Sustainability and complete some basic action planning for their hall/community.
7. Gain access to sustainability resources that includes educational materials, campus resources, and activities/program ideas to do with residents.
8. Participate in at least one program idea/activity student staff can recreate within their communities for residents.

-- All Housing student staff participated in a training fair bringing out 13 campus and community partners in sustainability to share resources and contact information for hall programming. Booths covered topics such as sustainable transportation, zero waste, water conservation, energy efficiency, global volunteer opportunities, food security, and more. Most resident communities encourage Resident Advisor Staff to cover zero waste in their resident orientations and require Resident Advisors to host at least 1 program related to sustainability per quarter.

-- In October 2017, the Student Housing Sustainability Program organized a Fall Sustainability Fair in a first-year housing community, hosting booths from 25 campus and community partners and reaching 300 students. Booths covered topics such as sustainable transportation, zero waste, water conservation, energy efficiency, global volunteer opportunities, food security, and more.

ENTERING GRADUATE STUDENTS

Sustainability is incorporated into graduate student orientation via campus-wide events, including the Anteater Involvement Fair (https://campusorgs.uci.edu/program_events/anteater_involvement.php) and the Fall Sustainability Fair. The Anteater Involvement Fair allows both incoming undergraduate and graduate students to learn how to get involved with campus and community organizations, including several sustainability-oriented organizations and clubs. Additionally, incoming graduate student residents have access to multiple student gardens and are provided with information on how to compost upon move-in.

ALL STUDENTS

In addition, incoming students who are shopping for meal plans find information about sustainable dining options on the website for UCI Hospitality and Dining. This information includes UCI's commitments to responsible sourcing, waste minimization, and efficient operations. Menu information includes information on kosher, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free food choices. See: http://uci.campusdish.com/