Aimee McGinty, president of SEAC, said the group participates in service projects and an environmental awareness week each semester, while campaigning for issues pertaining to the environment.,”Students for an Environmentally Active Campus is an organization devoted to promoting environmental awareness and activism on campus while reducing Marquette's impact on the environment.

Aimee McGinty, president of SEAC, said the group participates in service projects and an environmental awareness week each semester while campaigning for issues pertaining to the environment.

There are 10 active members in the organization, said McGinty, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. She said many others come to help out with service projects or are on the mailing list to keep up with causes.

At meetings, SEAC members brainstorm and discuss what they would like to focus on each semester, talk about environmental issues and come up with action plans for campaigns, she said.

Service projects include river cleanups with Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers and work at the Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place. The group also runs a market basket program in which locally produced fresh fruit and vegetables are delivered to campus. The program is run through a nonprofit organization called Growing Power, which helps communities build sustainable food systems.

Victor Soto, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said he participated in the university-sponsored Big Service Project this fall through SEAC and volunteered at the Urban Ecology Center.

"It was more of a family event, so it was nice to see families teach their children about what it means to be environmentally friendly," Soto said.

Greg Jackson, a 2007 Marquette alumnus, spoke about his sustainability work with the university at the last SEAC meeting of the semester Nov. 28.

Jackson said he is working with SEAC to increase sustainability efforts on campus and has met with almost every office on campus to increase environmental awareness and action.

Jackson is also working to get the university to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, which pledges to "initiate the development of a comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible."

SEAC is also putting pressure on the university to add solar panels to existing buildings or include them in new building plans. There will be three new buildings—law, engineering and student services—on campus in the near future, and SEAC is campaigning for the university to make the buildings environmentally friendly.

Next semester, SEAC will hold "Focus the Nation," a teach-in aimed at applying environmental issues to all areas of study, SEAC member Becky Goossen said.

"The goal is to get teachers from as many disciplines as you can get to talk about the environment and how it relates to their work," said Goossen, a College of Arts & Sciences junior.

Sadie Tuescher is a member of SEAC and the Marquette Activist Community, a network of organizations aimed at supporting one other's efforts while eliminating scheduling conflicts.

Tuescher, a College of Arts & Sciences junior, said SEAC is also planning a "Green Power" campaign to try to get the Alumni Memorial Union to run off renewable resources.

Tuescher said she has seen an increase in activism on campus this semester.

"This really is an opportunity for Marquette to do something and get action from the community," Tuescher said.

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