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Exposure provides a forum for student groups and area non-profits at Michigan State University and the Greater Lansing area. On the show, you'll hear discussions about the groups themselves as well as the relevant issues of today.
From WBDM East Lansing, this is Exposure, a biweekly news feature show that lets you know everything happening at MSU that you otherwise might not know about. I'm your host, Duffield, and welcome to Exposure. Welcome
Speaker 2:to Exposure season 17 episode two. I'm Amelia Duffield, and today, I have the privilege of chatting with two executive board members of Environmental Studies and Sustainability United or ESSU for short. ESSU aims to support students enrolled in the environmental studies and sustainability major or minor through career support and development, study groups, funding activities, and more. Today, I'm joined with president Amelia Beasley and vice president Dan Troutner. Thank you guys so much for joining us on WBDM.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having us.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So what are some of the responsibilities both of your executive board positions entail?
Speaker 4:I guess I could start. My main job, I guess, is just making sure everything runs smoothly. Like, looking at bigger picture stuff. So making sure that all of the members on the e board, you know, have their work done in time, make sure that they know what they have to do to make sure the club's running smoothly, kind of doing behind the scenes stuff, like making sure we're registered, making sure we're registered for different events, like participation and whatnot, and just overall, like, member and board management.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And I guess my main position, I guess, Amelia is more like the facilitator of everything, but I'm more focused on guest speakers, making sure they're all in the know how and making sure the schedule all lines up with theirs, whether that be on Zoom or in person, as well as part of my position as well is with really trying to find out spotlights in terms of internships, resume workshops, or anything that can add value to the students in the club, outside of the club. And we have like little spotlight that I'm more kind of focused on within the club.
Speaker 2:Totally. Dan, I'm actually glad you brought that up. I was going to ask about guest lecturers because I know ESSU has them pretty regularly. So what goes into selecting them, inviting them, and what do they usually talk about?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. Great question. So really, this year, I I think we really opened up the board, you know, like if you know someone or would love to have someone come in, let us know. Plenty of board members have had previous experiences with different professors such as Bob Wilson we had in the past, or other sustainability advocate that work in the field and could give kind of 2ยข about their experience, where they went to school, and just kind of how they got to where they are today.
Speaker 3:And I mean, I'm very blessed because most of the time the guest speakers are kind of taken care of because they love to speak and to help out the other students. So in terms of finding them, based on the board and their previous, I guess, roles and classes taken, it kind of lays down the path pretty easily. But yeah, I mean, they talk about anything from, like I said, previous education experience to, I guess, best advice that they would give to themselves back in the day where we are now.
Speaker 2:Great. Well, if you guys wouldn't mind just telling me a little bit more about, ESSU and how it functions as a whole.
Speaker 4:Yeah, of course. So, obviously, we have our member meetings, are, biweekly. And during these we have, we do a host a wide range of things like you know, like Dan was talking about, we have guest speakers come in from different areas of sustainability to talk about their work experience. We also will do kind of fun like social activities, you know, this week, we had a dip night. Two weeks ago, we actually had an ESSU family feud.
Speaker 2:Oh my god.
Speaker 4:Andrew was dressed as Steve Harvey, both cap and all. That was really fun. And just anything to make sure that people have a way of like making friends and getting to know each other because obviously MSU is such like a big campus and, you know, Dan and I both transferred here. So like as transfer students to you kind of know, it's like, know, everyone else kind of already has friends by the time you come here. And it's like, my God, like how am I supposed to meet people?
Speaker 4:So we're just trying to make that a bit easier for anybody. So that way people can just come and show up. And then we kind of not not force people to hang out with each other, but you know, like encourage people to talk to different to people they wouldn't necessarily, you know, already be friends with and, know, make those connections both professionally and personally, and just having fun. And then outside of the meetings, have social events and volunteer events. So social events, you know, we do a hayride in the fall, we do a Halloween party, we do friends giving.
Speaker 4:And then at the end of the spring semester, we do like a little spring semi formal just to like, celebrate everything we did throughout the year. And these are all just like, generally pretty small little get togethers for anyone who is able to come to, you know, we did a tailgate for the second game of the season this year, which was super fun. And again, just encouraging that, you know, social and like personal connections aspect of the club. And then we have our volunteer events, where we volunteer out in the community to try and encourage our members to, you know, get involved at the local level with sustainability efforts. We frequently volunteer with City of East Lansing, their sustainability department, with Allen Neighborhood Center and with the student organic farm.
Speaker 4:And just in general doing like invasive species removal and like neighborhood cleanups and that sort of thing.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Yeah. Family Feud. I love that. That's hysterical.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Was a night for sure.
Speaker 2:For listeners that may not know about the student organic farm, could you tell me a little bit about that?
Speaker 4:So this organic farm is like, it's on campus. It's like, kind of on like the far I think, like, north, no, south side of campus, sorry. And it it's kind of is what it sounds like. It's a student run farm on campus. And the food that is grown there is some of it is sent to dining halls, some of it is sold in like these sort of like produce basket things they do.
Speaker 4:It's like sent out to the community, that sort of thing. And you know, anybody able to volunteer there, you just sign up, I believe you just go to their website, they have a form you can fill out. And you know, you could do maybe all sorts of things you can, you know, sometimes you're weeding, sometimes you're, you know, planting the food, sometimes you're harvesting the food. And they also have a farm cat, I believe the cat's name is is trout, but I can't really remember what the cat's name is, but I think it's trout and he's literally the sweetest cat I've like ever met. So like, that's also obviously a motivator to volunteer, you know, as you get to meet the cat, which is awesome.
Speaker 2:Definitely. I don't
Speaker 4:know if Dan wants to add anything else about that.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I remember we went last year, and that was the first time I ever volunteered. It was super cool. It's down in near, like, Mason. So it's probably like a fifteen minute drive away off campus.
Speaker 3:So you can carpool. It's it's a whole bunch of fun if you can get out there. But we were planting green beans. I think they were green beans. I know that I know that they just gave us trowels and they said plant this.
Speaker 3:I kinda I think I forgot. I think it was green beans, though. And then kale.
Speaker 4:We're planting kale.
Speaker 3:It was kale. Yeah. It was something green. I I couldn't tell. But then we went over and, you know, just almost, took a tour, and then we were able to pick, like, different tomatoes and bring them home with us and everything.
Speaker 3:So it was really cool to see, like, where it starts and where it ends up. So it's a really cool time.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Well, I really appreciated what you guys were saying about being transfer students. I feel like even if you aren't coming from a transfer student, like, background, MSU's a beast in itself to, like, get involved with and, like, join social organizations. So, like, you guys prioritizing, like, bonding and, like, the volunteer aspects of it is really amazing. What impact does ESSU, like, if you had to put it into words, aim to leave on sustainability at Michigan State, like, as a whole?
Speaker 4:I would say that ESSU is wanting to encourage, again, like I said before, students to get involved with, you know, the local community and East Lansing and on campus. I think it can be very easy to kind of go through college and not get involved with like the community surrounding our campus. And obviously in East Lansing, you know, it's not the most peaceful thing to live next to a really big college campus. But, you know, everyone's really friendly and it's great to get out into the community and get to meet people. And, you know, do that sort of grassroots community action.
Speaker 4:And just also encouraging people to further their, you know, academic learning through this, like experiential learning.
Speaker 3:Right. Yeah. I I guess what it what it really means to me, what I love about it is, you know, we're we accept every major. Anyone who has an interest in volunteering sustainability at all or just learning, what I think we really do well is laying down the foundation into students where you don't need to live you can live anywhere and you can still participate in sustainable actions. Whether that be just we had Beale Fest a couple of weeks ago, and we took recycling from MSU Recycling Center and we made canvases on it and we painted the park.
Speaker 3:So that's a really good example about And you can take anything around you and you can become sustainable. And you can also use that as a spiritual, be creative, be at ease when we're in a college town. What I also love is, like I said, laying down the framework to being sustainable and being creative in terms of being as frugal as you can, but also living life to the fullest. And that's kind of what sustainability is in definition. So they can take that from Michigan State wherever they go and promote that wherever they end up in the community that they end up in.
Speaker 3:So that's what I like about it a lot.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And I'm glad you mentioned that you guys are open to anyone interested in sustainability because I feel like it's such like I mean, we're Spartans go green and everything, obviously. But I think there's so much going on in the world that, like, really taking initiative with preservation and sustainability is just so crucial. So that's really awesome. Do you guys I wanted to ask.
Speaker 2:I meant to ask earlier. Like, what made you as individuals choose a path of sustainability and in environmental studies?
Speaker 4:Well, for me, I actually initially, like, up until spring break, my senior year of high school, I was going to be going to U of M for psychology, which, know, like boo Michigan. You know, it wasn't until, know, my like, senior year I took, it was also called ESS, but it was like environmental systems and society class, that I kind of realized that this was something I could like, do as a job and not just something that was like, a side like activism thing. Like, I'd always been pretty politically involved, since I was kind of a conscious human being. Realizing that, oh, I can combine my environmental advocacy into a profession made me kind of open my eyes a bit. And like, I like last second, applied to state got like kind of deferred acceptance.
Speaker 4:So I was able to go to LCC for semester and then come here. And I've just, you know, loved it ever since. And, you know, being at MSU has really helped my, you know, me develop what I want to do specifically and my specific goals and passions within the field. And you know, especially in when I joined ESSU, when it started my freshman year that, you know, really helped because I got to talk to people and like learn about different areas and different minors that I didn't even know existed coming into the university. So yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Kind of piggyback off that. I didn't really realize that I could study it. I thought it was more like a hobby type thing, I guess. I guess that was just like the young and in me.
Speaker 3:I didn't really understand it. But I guess growing up in Northern Lower Peninsula, the Northwest part, seeing the seasonal changes, I guess I've always grown up thinking about, oh my gosh, this is all so beautiful around me. And I studied business and marketing, and I was gonna do finance at Michigan State. But then I applied randomly to be in the forestry because I worked a landscaping job. I was like, well, we can do forestry.
Speaker 3:I got accepted for that. And then Jean Stapleton recommended to me me BESS because it could tie in with my associate's degrees. I was like, oh, let's try it. And I took I took one class and it was it was CSUS 200, like the intro to sustainability class. And there was a prompt on there that says, like, the graph of, like, like, eighteen hundreds till, like, now.
Speaker 3:And then it was, like, industrial revolution, and it just fossil fuels skyrocket. And it was, like, so jarring to me that if we kept on that pace where we would end up, you know? There's a lot of instances like that that I find in my day to day that's just jarring. And I was like, man, this is a big problem. And I know it doesn't take just one person, but this is something I believe in and I value and I def and I could not see myself not studying it.
Speaker 3:So I switched my degree to ESS right away after that because I thought it it was something that needed it, you know, and I loved it, the way. So it kinda worked out hand in hand.
Speaker 2:I'm glad to hear it. I mean, I feel like the economical and industrial sides of environmental sustainability are like, obviously very important to educate ourselves about.
Speaker 3:Very scary for sure.
Speaker 2:Very scary. Yeah. So I you guys have already named a couple of, like, amazing experiences working with ESSU. Are there some past projects that you're especially, like, proud of or that you enjoyed or some you're looking forward to in the future?
Speaker 4:I mean, I know that kind of the big main project that I wasn't have been involved in was my sophomore year. We started this like subcommittee of ESSU for to make a pollinator garden in the Natural Resources Building. And now it's, you know, become its own separate club. And, you know, we're working to expand and, you know, create more pollinator gardens throughout campus and, you know, dance now the president of that and I'm the vice president for that. So we kind of like flip flop roles here.
Speaker 4:But it was it's been really cool getting to see like, what started as like, it was literally like a committee of like, four or five of us. And like, now it's kind of become its own club with people who aren't even like involved in ESSU that are involved in this club and, you know, working to create these, you know, native pollinator gardens throughout campus to make our, you know, ecosystem much more resilient has been very exciting and fun to see.
Speaker 3:Yeah. That's that's a big one. You kinda took that from me, but that's okay because I have so many. No. That's huge.
Speaker 3:Yes. Getting pollinators and giving pollinators voices is huge. But I wanna say any any event that we do that ties in with other clubs, I find that I find a lot of value in that. And even if it's on campus, like Spartan Day of Service, or I guess that would be off campus too. But last semester, we did a tie in with Sierra Club.
Speaker 3:We painted the rock, which is really cool. But on campus, off campus, just being with other students who are in very different clubs and have very different experiences and different opinions and getting together for a common theme of volunteering or learning or just community based education, anytime we can do something like that, that's one of my favorites. So we help with the Allen Neighborhood Center or, like I said, Spartan Day of Service, mulching, de planting, or pulling up and then replanting, taking on invasive species and just collaborating is one of my favorite activities that we do for sure.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I mean, I know you mentioned like all students are welcome. Is there a way you recommend they get started to get involved with ESSU or contact you guys? Is there a better method of doing that? What would you recommend?
Speaker 4:Honestly, a great kind of source of consistent updates for the club, even if you're not able to attend regular club meetings is to like follow us on Instagram. We're just at essu.msu. And on there we post whenever we have an event coming up or whenever we have a meeting. And we have a link tree that has like the link to our group me in it on there. And so joining that group me, we also send out a lot of updates there of like study rooms that we're hosting.
Speaker 4:And like I said, meetings, the most up to date information that we can. So that way, you know, we have people who are like in the group me who like, will come to like one meeting a year, but like, we're still really happy to have them. You know, I people get busy. Like, I remember there's a semester I was not able to come to any meetings because I had a class at the same time, and now I'm president. So, you know, that sort of stuff works out, you know, that's how I would say it's probably best for people to keep track of what we're doing since I feel like most people are age of Instagram.
Speaker 4:So
Speaker 3:Yeah. I was I would probably say the same thing. I feel like digitally, unless, like, you see one of us walking in the halls, You know? But, yeah, I'd say we always or, I mean, we we meet we meet biweekly every Wednesdays if they wanted to come to a meeting, but that those are all announced on our Instagram. So it all really just goes through Instagram.
Speaker 2:For sure. Yeah. Good to know. Well, if a student isn't in ESSU but wants to contribute to sustainability at Michigan State, do you have any tips or practices that anyone can implement into their daily lives?
Speaker 4:Honestly, I think any small action that people can do, you know, just like making sure you're recycling, you know, I know it can get hard like when you're in the dorms, it's a bit easier depending on which dorm you're in. If there are recycling bins and then like as you get off campus, know, like I live in an apartment off campus if I wanna recycle all my stuff, I have to drive to the recycling center to drop it off. But you know, even just doing your cans or you know, even like having like a meatless day of the week where it's like you don't eat meat for a day and like that's, you know, your contribution or making sure you're not, you know, using disposable water bottles like, know, any small action makes a big difference. You know, obviously, there's people like me who like, you know, become a vegetarian and like, do all this crazy stuff. But like, that's just not feasible for a lot of people.
Speaker 4:And I think that doing something even if it seems small, is better than nothing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right. Yeah, 100%. I would say that, I mean, starting to get really, really cold out at the moment. And those who, I guess, would most likely ride their bike or, take the bus during the summer because it's a nice outer walk. Instead of maybe driving, maybe just kinda be like, how much c o two is this gonna release, you know, to and from?
Speaker 3:How much gas? So it's financial. It's it's, you know, environmental. But just try to stick out on the bus as long as you can because those buses are nice. They're they're hybrid.
Speaker 3:So they just riding the bus does a little little bit more than you think every day, you know, how many times you go to campus every day. You know? So if you can stick out through the winter months and just hope till spring comes quick. You know?
Speaker 2:Hope those cattle buses show up on time. All that good.
Speaker 3:No. For real. And the thing is the thing is I know it's I know it's a struggle. I've been there. I'm still there.
Speaker 2:We both have. Haven't we all? Yeah.
Speaker 3:I would say to stick out as long as you can because just riding the bus, you know, you might think you're not doing a whole bunch, but you're doing a lot.
Speaker 2:Just taking those little extra steps every day to make the world a Right. Place. Absolutely. Well, I know we've talked a little bit about the community aspect and engagement aspects of ESSU. How do those meetings and events do you feel foster community and friendships along the way?
Speaker 4:Like I said, I feel like our meetings, you know, we try to have something new every meeting that kind of forces people to separate themselves from the groups they've already formed to talk to other people. You know, like we'll start a meeting by like dividing the room based on like what color shirt you're wearing or like what your favorite genre of music is to kind of force give people something to talk about and also make sure they're not just sitting next to the same people every single day. So that way, you know, like, there's not just like, oh, everyone has friend groups. Then the one person who comes in and doesn't have, you know, a lot of friends yet feels like left out, like, you gotta make sure everyone feels included. And, you know and it feels nice because like when people start coming regularly, you know, if I see someone in the hall from the meeting, I'll say hi or they'll come up to say hi to me.
Speaker 4:And it just feels like good getting to develop those relationships, you know, like I try to, you know, not look, you know, angry when I'm walking. Sometimes I'm really tired. I probably might look a little bit peeved, but
Speaker 2:I feel you
Speaker 4:know, I promise I'm friendly. I promise I'm friendly and I want people to talk to me, like nine times out of 10. I'm all up for yapping conversation. And like getting to then do those social events where we're kind of in a more informal setting also helps us develop those relationships more, which I really love.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I I think we we keep the we keep the meetings extremely, like, relaxed and, like, flexible and low and just low key. You know? We have a lot of fun. We it's very interactive, you know, with with the meetings.
Speaker 3:If you come in, you're you're, an introvert. You know? I'll, like when I'm speaking up there, I'll ask, like, active questions. And if no one responds, I'll just kinda sit there awkwardly until someone responds, you know, or we'll do, a group we'll do, like, a group clap or something or something like that just to, like, like, get get, like, the blood going, get people smiling. Because, like, in my opinion, like, does like, some people more some weeks, there's more people than others, you know, and I totally understand that.
Speaker 3:But if we have if we have one person come to the meeting and we can get them to smile and we can get them to learn and we can get them just to enjoy the night, then that's a w in my book. You know? I think I feel like we've done something. And, but within the meeting, I like to have as much fun as possible. Like, oh, it's a club meeting.
Speaker 3:Oh, I don't wanna it's it's too much pressure. No. You can you know, I literally put on a bald cap and played played Steve Harvey the other night just to, like, just to do it. You know what I mean? So, like, I feel like nowadays, everyone kind of, like, is all professional.
Speaker 3:And we're in college. You have to be this, that, and the other thing where, you come to our club. We are a pre professional club and we wanna learn as much as possible. But at the end of the day, we're all human. We always laugh.
Speaker 2:That's Lies things up. You only live once.
Speaker 3:Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 2:100%. There's no formula. Right? There's no like formula to a club meeting or like No. Engage people.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It's just yeah. Honestly, it's straight off the dome. Know? I mean, our presentations our our presentations are planned.
Speaker 3:Right? But whenever I whenever we start talking, I feel like we just kinda go. You know? Like, it's like
Speaker 4:No yap.
Speaker 3:Like Emilia said, we like to yap. So
Speaker 4:Yeah. Many many on eboard meeting has been derailed by Dan and I just yapping.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. And it's fun. And the thing is they have to be there. So the you know?
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 2:They have to be there. Well, in an ever changing, you know, political climate, environmental policy can obviously shift just completely overnight. And the current administration has proposed major cuts to the EPA in the 2026 fiscal year planning to cut approximately 55% of the budget. So how do you stay hopeful for the future of sustainability in trying times and especially in an organization dedicated to the environment and its preservation?
Speaker 4:I think that a way that I feel, you know, try to keep myself feeling hopeful and not just like drowning in the kind of helplessness that this sort of climate breeds is that I try to turn like the kind of rage and frustration that I feel into action, you know, and getting involved, like I said, with the community or, you know, finding like, internships and stuff that are related, obviously, since this is what I'm planning on doing. But trying to whenever I start feeling that hopelessness and those negative emotions, to go like, okay, like letting myself feel that. And then, you know, putting a cut down of me. Okay, now I gotta like, what am I gonna do about it? Like, I can't just sit here, you know, drowning in my feelings.
Speaker 4:I can't let this negativity consume me. Have to do something about it because, you know, when we're complacent, that's just, you know, co signing everything that's happening and just letting it happen, which is what they want us to do. And, you know, we can't just stay silent and, you know, motionless. We gotta, like, keep going forward and keep pushing for what we believe in.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Great advice.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. I would say, you know, nothing lasts forever. You know? If if I'm taking what I'm studying and what I'm learning every day and I'm thinking like, okay, where we're at currently may not apply, it's not going to derail me into what I'm passionate about when I know that in the future, near or far, it'll be highlighted again.
Speaker 3:And then when that does happen, I'll be ready. I'll be prepared. But I was kinda talking about earlier trickling on the idea that it's not one person, in meaning we're like I guess, like I said, it it's not it it won't last forever. You know? So in my day to day, I like to think like, okay.
Speaker 3:So what can I do today to set myself up better for tomorrow, for next week, for next month, for next year, for the next five years? Right? I couldn't see myself studying anything else but this. You know, I'm passionate about this. And the state of the government or what decisions are made up top shouldn't derail me off the fact that I want to study what I want to study.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean? I do believe that in the next couple of years, there will be a light shed on this type of advocacy, like the IRA hopefully will be reestablished. Other points and consideration will be highlighted as well. I think mother nature always wins. You know?
Speaker 3:So in my day, you know, a tree gets blown down by mother nature. No one wanted that tree to get blown down, but it did. You So mother nature always wins. And sooner or later, we will see that again. And I'll be ready for it.
Speaker 3:And I hope everyone else will be ready for it too. But no one really knows the future. So don't sacrifice the present.
Speaker 4:Adding on to that, I think it definitely is helpful. Like as much as, you know, a lot of problems can be caused by like having, you know, a bunch of old people in office all the time. But I think that there is something to be said about talking to people from older generations and hearing the things that they've witnessed in their lifetime, you know, like, I'll be talking to my dad about these issues and about like, my feeling of like, hopelessness about it. And he'll just be like, you know, he's like, when I was a kid and like back in like the 70s and 80s, was like, you couldn't even like, you know, see, you know, 10 feet in front of you because of how much like smog there was and like how much the air was polluted, you know, granted he was growing up in England, but at a more urban area, but, you know, he was like, you couldn't even see like the sky was always like this mottled gray and brown and he was like, and now, you know, he goes back to his hometown and there's like, some birds, there's like clear skies, you know, that sort of thing.
Speaker 4:So getting to hear how change of how things have changed even within his lifetime gives me hope that things can change drastically within my lifetime.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Really, really well put. Just so you guys know, like, your passion and drive is really, really refreshing, especially in times like these. Well, that's it for our show. Thank you guys so much for joining me, Amelia and Dan.
Speaker 2:It's been a blast. We've been honored to have y'all, so thank you so much.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 4:Well, that's Of course.
Speaker 1:For our show.
Speaker 2:You're listening to Exposure. Bye.
Speaker 1:You're listening to Exposure. Please keep in mind, opinions expressed on Exposure are those of the guests and do
Speaker 2:not necessarily reflect those of the
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