Are you a student living on campus at the University of Arkansas who wants to make residence hall life more sustainable? You should consider running for a position in Residents’ Interhall Congress!
Residents’ Interhall Congress (RIC) is a on-campus student only student government that develops residence hall policies and programs through legislation. The RIC House of Representatives members work with the executive team to facilitate impactful change within the community of students living on campus. The Director of Sustainability is the member of the executive team who plays a large role in implementing sustainability programs, policies, and procedures in residence halls. They serve as the leader of the RIC Sustainability Committee and aid House members in crafting sustainability-focused legislation.
In the past, the RIC Sustainability team has worked extensively with the Housing department staff to reform on-campus waste and recycling systems. Through these collaborations, each residence hall on campus was designated with a Resident Assistant in charge of sustainability programs and recycling/waste streams in their building. Additionally, recycling bins were added to each floor of every residence hall, allowing students further accessibility to sustainable alternatives for disposing of waste. RIC sustainability team members also passed legislation through the House that aimed to instate bike pumps in multiple residence halls throughout campus in order to increase students’ access to sustainable transportation.
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Under the Director of Sustainability, the RIC Sustainability Committee has additionally collaborated with a multitude of registered student organizations and university departments. In 2019, RIC worked with the Associated Student Government (ASG) Director of Sustainability and the Chartwells campus dinning department to reduce plastic waste in the Union food court. This was accomplished through a piece of legislation that passed unanimously through both ASG Senate and the RIC House of Representatives.
The RIC Sustainability team hosts multiple sustainability programs throughout the academic year. The most popular program is Recyclemania, in which students living on campus can participate in educational programs regarding waste aversion and diversion processes. Additionally, RIC and the Housing department host Leave Green at the end of each academic year, which encourages on-campus students to donate gently used items (i.e., clothing, small electronics, household items, etc.) to a local charitable organization. RIC’s outreach during Earth week extends to all students on and off campus. During Earth Week in 2019, RIC Sustainability Committee members obtained funding through the House to purchase Kleen Kanteen hydro flask water bottles to hand out to students in exchange for their unused school supplies. RIC collected these supplies during Earth Day tabling and donated them to Potter’s House, a local non-profit thrift store, shortly after the event.
“Organizations like RIC give on-campus students, especially those just starting college as freshmen, a great chance to get involved in local sustainability organizing initiatives. As the former Director of Sustainability, I was able to grow alongside my Sustainability Committee members throughout each program we facilitated and every policy we passed. This is a wonderful place to start getting involved for those who are just beginning to cultivate their interests in sustainability and environmental advocacy.” Sophie Hill, Residents’ Interhall Congress Director of Sustainability, 2018-2019 said.
If you are interested in joining Residents’ Interhall Congress and furthering on-campus sustainability initiatives, please visit the RIC HogSync page and follow RIC on Instagram.
By Sophie Hill, Zero Waste Coordinator.