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News Release

Last modified: Wednesday, April 8, 2009

SustainIU events unite IU Bloomington community in learning to live sustainably

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Student organizations at Indiana University Bloomington are joining forces to spread awareness about sustainability and how individuals can make a positive impact on their environment. The second annual SustainIU initiative will feature a week and a half of diverse events, all aimed at engaging and educating the campus community on issues related to sustainability.

Nathan Bower-Bir, coordinator of Volunteers in Sustainability, said, "ViS is happy to help in the planning of SustainIU with all of these wonderful student groups and organizers. It's encouraging to know that there are so many people on campus committed to bringing these issues to the forefront."

SustainIU will kick off on Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union State Room East, where new IU Director of Sustainability Bill Brown, student interns for the IU Office of Sustainability and other student leaders across campus will discuss students' roles as advocates for sustainability on campus and in their home communities.

"If you want to catch some brilliant rays of hope about the future of our planet, just look at what these student leaders are doing now to engage their university community in the solutions to our most pressing problems," said Brown.

Additional panel discussions held during SustainIU will address global perspectives on sustainability, sustainability in business, access to and the affordability of sustainable food and consumerism. John de Graaf, filmmaker and author of Affluenza, will be showing his most recent film, What's the Economy for Anyway? Following the film, de Graaf will answer questions and lead an open discussion on the need for making time to be sustainable in a hectic world.

SustainIU keynote speaker Tony Cortese will offer a lecture on Thursday, April 16, titled "Higher Education's Critical Role in Creating a Healthy, Just and Sustainable Society," providing strategies for moving IU Bloomington forward as a leader in campus sustainability. Cortese is president of Second Nature, co-director of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, and co-founder of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education and the Higher Education Association Sustainability Consortium.

IU students and community members are invited to attend the Green Day festival in Dunn Meadow on Friday, April 17, from 3-8 p.m. The festival will highlight sustainability initiatives on and off campus, as well as showcasing sustainability projects and volunteer and issue advocacy opportunities. Local vendors will offer food, and IU's own Straight No Chaser, Bhodi Tree Grove, and New City Blues will provide live music from 6-8 p.m.

SustainIU will culminate in Dunn Meadow at 3 p.m. on Earth Day -- Wednesday, April 22 -- with a celebration and announcement of the 2009 IU Energy Challenge winners.

SustainIU events are presented by the Environmental Management Association, Greeks Go Green, INPIRG, Office of Sustainability Interns, Indiana-Ecuador Partnership for Sustainable Development, Indiana University Student Association, NetImpact, Sustainable Development Association, and Volunteers in Sustainability, with additional support from the IU Libraries, Kelley Undergraduate School of Business, Office of Sustainability, Residence Halls Association, the School of Education, the School of Informatics, the School of Public & Environmental Affairs, Union Board, and the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.

Admission to all SustainIU events is free. For additional information and the time and location of all SustainIU events, visit www.indiana.edu/~sustain.

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