St. Kate’s Student Senate commits to sustainability on campus

At the end of the fall semester, St. Kate’s Senate members officially signed the Student Senate Climate Commitment. The Commitment is designed to hold all members of Senate, as well as club leaders, accountable to sustainable action on campus.

The document lists general obligations for all Senate members, including mandatory environmental outreach and participation in the Katie’s Go Green Challenge. There is also a push to attempt zero-waste at all Senate functions in the future, and the Club Support Fund is offering aid to account for the increased cost of buying compostable and reusable products.

A trash sort last fall, one of the many ways Senate members can get involved in sustainability.

Furthermore, the Commitment details the obligations expected of specific Senate positions, ensuring that all members do their part to support sustainability on campus. A notable inclusion in the positional obligations is the Diversity Committee, which is tasked with ensuring that all voices are heard in the fight for environmental justice. 

“I have been challenging our Senate members to think about the voices we are missing when we are advocating for the environmental issues on campus,” said Senate President Zaynab Abdi ‘20 (Political Science, International Studies and Philosophy major). “We need everyone to be part of this mission.”

As part of the Commitment, Abdi’s leadership team is responsible for holding Senate members and individual positions accountable as the student-led body continues to work toward sustainability. Each position has its own unique set of obligations relating to its role in Senate, which is a system Environmental Issues Co-Chair Sydney Kennedy ‘22 (Biology and Public Policy major) helped develop over the course of the fall semester. 

“How can we cater what you do to be more environmentally conscious?” Kennedy said of her process of reaching out to other Senate members. “What are reasonable expectations of that for you?”

Kennedy posing in front of a “Katie’s Go Green” sign. The next “Katie’s Go Green” challenge will be held in April.

However, the Commitment does not only affect Senate members. The last page of the document includes obligations aimed at club leaders on campus. This includes an attempt to achieve zero-waste at club meetings by utilizing tactics such as ordering compost bins, using compostable utensils and reusing paper products. As St. Kate’s contains myriad unique clubs, these new obligations are meant to get the ball rolling for the rest of the university. 

The sustainability efforts of Kennedy and her fellow Senators can be traced back to an objective to establish a Presidential Climate Commitment that would affect the entire university. The original plans for a Presidential Commitment fell through last spring.

“A big thing the leadership team was wary of was that it made us look hypocritical,” Kennedy admitted. “We’re [Senate] not following a standard, so why should we be expecting the same of the university?”

Thus, the Student Senate Climate Commitment was born. Now that the Commitment has been signed and new obligations enacted, Abdi, Kennedy, and many other Senate members are hopeful that a Presidential Commitment is within their sights.

“We hope that our campus moves toward sustainability,” Abdi says. “We want all the campus communities to commit to the goals of Senate and we also need to continue collaborating with other groups who have been doing great work toward the environment.”

Opportunities to get involved in the fight for environmental sustainability, such as the “Katie’s Go Green” Challenge taking place April 20th to the 24th, are fast approaching this semester. Abdi is excited to see student involvement increase.

“We strongly believe that we are not alone in this fight.”

Senate meetings take place every Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. in the Ballroom and are open to the public.