Campus wide teach-in to spotlight climate change issues
March 06, 2015
Some Roanoke College students are making global climate issues a priority on campus, with numerous student-led organizations that are focused on creating change.
A new campus event will spotlight environmentalism efforts in the classroom.
Dr. Valerie Banschbach, an environmental studies professor at Roanoke and department chair, decided to create a way for faculty to highlight environmentalism on campus. She created a climate change teach-in, sponsored by the Environmental Studies Department and Peace and Justice program at Roanoke.
The teach-in invites all faculty, no matter the department, to spend one class period on March 12 or 13 discussing climate change. Faculty are encouraged to get creative and teach about climate change using their own academic perspective.
The teach-in pushes for a comprehensive discussion among all students and faculty.
"The faculty response has been a positive one," said Banschbach.
Thirty-nine professors participated in a faculty development meeting where they discussed their lesson plans for the teach-in. Additional professors also plan to participate.
Here is a sampling of some faculty members' unique teach-in lesson plans:
Dr. Giuliana Chapman, an Italian professor, will teach about the impact of climate change in Venice, Italy, in her Elementary Italian classes. More specifically, they will study Italy's geography and Venice's rising water levels and discuss possible solutions for these issues.
English Professor Dr. Sandee McGlaun's INQ 120 course explores the longstanding connections between storytelling and the human-nature relationship. For the teach-in, her students will discuss Erik Reece's book, "Lost Mountain," and connect it to a larger discussion of ecology, economy and energy consumption's role in climate change.
Dr. Ivonne Wallace Fuentes, a History professor, teaches an INQ 270 course, "Power in Latin America," which studies the ancient Maya, Aztecs and Incas. To tie in the theme of climate change, students will study the case as well as evidence for climate change in the ancient civilizations, along with society's reactions to the economic and social effects of climate change.
In addition to raising environmental awareness in classes, environmentalism will be a focus of a Women's Forum event on Thursday, March 12 in the College's Wortmann Ballroom. During this noon event, Roanoke students who are leaders of climate activism groups on campus will speak about their efforts as a kick off to the two day teach-in.
Also, on March 14-17, a group of Roanoke students will attend a spring lobby weekend in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Friends Committee on National Legislation. The weekend, centered on climate change, consists of three days of training in policy and advocacy skills, followed by a lobby day on Capitol Hill.
-Published March 6, 2015
-By Hannah Cline '15