Earth Emerson reorganizes, refocuses

10/01/09Earth Emerson, the college's student environmental organization, is reorganizing and refocusing itself for the school year, networking with environmental groups, forming intra-organizational committees, and creating the new position of communications director.

The organization was founded in 1996 by a group of students who noticed the lack of recycling on-campus.

On Sept. 18, Earth Emerson and the Sustainable Future Campaign sponsored a working lunch on environmentalism at Emerson, where co-president Molly LaFlesh, a junior writing, literature, and publishing major, said she was able to meet and exchange information with State Senator Marc Pacheco, the chairman of the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change, Josef Mantl from the Sustainable Future Campaign, and representatives from Suffolk University's student environmental organization.

"One big topic of the luncheon was empathy--how do you get students to care about, say, recycling, when so many have other concerns that they consider just as pressing? It's all about finding out what the empathetic party in question does care about," LaFlesh said.

Jonathan Satriale, faculty advisor for Earth Emerson and technology manager for the journalism and marketing departments, said that the organization will try to establish what environmental issues interest students and then form small committees to address those issues.

"It really comes down to the passion of the different students, and then putting that passion to work on an event," he said.

Jillian Tedeschi, co-president of Earth Emerson and a junior marketing communication major, said that the committees will allow the members to feel more involved in the organization.

This year, Earth Emerson appointed Ella Avedikian, a junior marketing communication major, to the new position of communications director.

LaFlesh said communication within the organization and between the organization and the larger Emerson community is one of the main goals of Earth Emerson this year.

Avedikian said her duties will mostly consist of making Earth Emerson a more visible organization on-campus through marketing and outreach initiatives as well as cooperating with faculty and administration on policies that the organization hopes to implement.

"My position will hopefully bring people together to find ways we can voice our goals to the community," Avedikian said.

Tedeschi said Earth Emerson drew in 67 names for its e-mail list at the annual organization fair last month, and approximately 40 people came to the organization's first meeting Tuesday.

Members already started to express interest in the issues of renewable energy, animal rights and marketing activities for the organization.

"Everyone was a little hesitant because it was the first meeting, but people were already starting to sign up [for committees]. As long as we keep people involved, we will [retain our members]," Tedeschi said.

Satriale said membership has grown over the years, but "in the end, it is a small group. Getting students to participate on a regular weekly basis is the challenge.