• ENTS requirement
• ENTS component in first year seminar classes.
• More extensive advertisement of the ENTS department and its classes. (SDA functions)
• Graphic display of practical recommendations for bathroom stalls.

The passage of the ENTS requirement is expected to be a long, arduous battle. After contacting professors Louis Newman, member of the ECC, and Jane McDonnell, a key player in the passage of the RAD requirement, we established steps to begin the process.

First, one should find at least ten faculty members who would be willing to:

• Propose this idea and support it publicly on the floor of the faculty meeting.
• Chair a task force charged with investigating the value and implications of the ENTS requirement.
• Actively promote it with colleagues.

Finding these Carleton faculty members is necessary because, to date, no college requirement has been created or sustained without the active support of the faculty. Without such support there would be no point in pursuing this idea.

If there were faculty support, the next step would be to draft a detailed proposal that addresses the value and educational capabilities of the ENTS requirement. One should also present the proposal to the various environmental groups on campus, so as to generate student support. Finally, start lobbying!

If there is not enough faculty support for the proposal of an ENTS requirement, explore the possibility of making an addendum to the current RAD requirement such that it includes an environmental component. This may be easier to tackle and less “controversial” because it does not involve adding a whole new requirement for graduation. Rather, it amplifies the scope and range of classes that can be taken to fulfill the RAD requirement. On the other hand, be prepared to answer to the faculty’s concern that an environmental studies class does not fulfill the original mission of the RAD. That is, it will be difficult to get them to consent to allow an environmental studies class to substitute for the lessons of race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion that the RAD requirement is trying to instill.

Another possibility is to tackle specific academic departments such that they offer an environmental component in their freshman seminars. The English department’s writing seminars are ideal because the topics covered in the seminars are varied. The professor usually provides guidance as to the kind of essay that the student should write but leaves the topic up to the student. One could recommend that the professor provide the topic of environmentalism, and still give the students the choice to select a topic within that wide realm.

More extensive advertisement of the ENTS department, especially during registration times, could also be a way to encourage students to take classes in environmental studies. We believe that many students simply are not aware of the wide scope of ENTS classes that are offered, while many others are not “caught” by the wording of the course catalog descriptions. Advertisement, outreach and advising, especially by the student departmental advisor, are key to drafting students into ENTS courses.

Our last suggestion is to create a graphic display of practical recommendations for bathroom stalls. This is also a valuable way to reach the student body and to provide information about current environmental issues and their practical solutions. Most graphical displays are both aesthetically engaging and educational. In this way we may move from the “thinking and learning” to the “doing” part of the environmentalist movement.