It's Time to Join the Movement

A new semester has begun for students across Kentucky, and that means one thing: it’s time to join the movement. KSEC is building a strong, united youth movement to fight for a just and environmentally sustainable future in our communities and beyond.  

The heart of the movement is the campus group. KSEC exists first to serve our campus affiliates. Organizations at universities and colleges advance environmental causes every semester. Some campuses host art shows and environmental fairs. Others fight for their campuses to divest from fossil fuels. Some groups maintain butterfly gardens; others lobby to maintain campus green spaces. 

All of these campaigns may seem small against the huge global environmental challenges we face, but the most lasting change starts in local communities and permeates through society. 

KSEC members finish out an event all smiles.

Take, for example, campus dining. Students at universities across Kentucky have pressured their campus dining services to purchase food locally, reduce plastic and food waste, and introduce more options for vegetarians, vegans, and people with other dietary restrictions. These efforts have benefited local communities and have influenced dining services at universities and businesses across the country, pushing whole industries to be more just and sustainable.

All this work contributes to the movement. Success in the movement, however, requires contributions from many people like you. Our movement has a role for everyone, so what’s your role?

Your role may be to join an environmental group on your campus; it may be to start one! KSEC can help you do that. We have a toolkit of resources with all the information you need to get a group off the ground, and our campus organizers are happy to guide you along the way.
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Joining a campus group offers a variety of roles you can adopt depending on your ability and capacity. 

1. You can simply be a member who sits in on meetings and listens -- that’s how a lot of young organizers get their start. 
2. You can volunteer for events your group attends or plans -- sitting at tables for student involvement fairs, planning teach-ins to talk about environmental issues on your campus, meeting with university administrators to discuss retiring your school’s coal-fired boilers and switching to renewable energy sources, and so on. 
3. You could even become an officer in your group who takes notes, plans meeting agendas, or runs social media.

The possibilities are wide at a campus group; you need only give it a chance to find your niche.

​Your role may be to improve the effectiveness of your campus group. Once again, KSEC can help. Our campus organizers can train your members in everything from how to run a meeting, how to recruit new members, how to effectively run social media, and beyond. 

Your role may be to start a campaign for change on your campus. KSEC can help you do that as well. Our suite of trainings around campaign planning, strategy, and tactics will put pressure on your campus administration. Don’t know what campaign you’d like to run? KSEC has toolkits to get you started on several campaigns that groups have run in the past.
There are many campaigns you can draw inspiration from. In 2015 alone KSEC saw four huge victories. At Eastern Kentucky University, students drove the university to sign onto the President’s Climate Commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At DuPont Manual High School in Louisville, students won a campaign to bring local foods into their cafeteria. At Kentucky State University, students won a campaign to institute campus-wide recycling. At Centre College, students created a fund of $5000 annually to give to sustainability programs on campus.

DuPont Manual Students pose for a photo at an event.

If any of these campaigns speak to the needs on your campus, KSEC can help get you begin to address those needs.
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All of the roles discussed above are vital to the health and success of the movement for a just and sustainable future. Whatever role in the movement you choose, we have a way to help you succeed. All you have to do is join up and try on a role.