September 30, 2002

UCSC grad honored for environmental activism

By Jennifer McNulty

Jessian Choy is a mover and shaker, so it didn't surprise those who knew her as a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, when she received a national award for environmental activism from the Earth Island Institute.

Choy was one of only six young people in the country who received the 2002 Brower Youth Award during a ceremony in Berkeley on September 26.

The award, named for longtime Sierra Club leader and Earth Island Institute founder David Ross Brower, honors environmental activists aged 13 to 22.

Choy was selected for her work at UCSC, where she founded the Student Environmental Center (SEC) to involve students in planning campus policies to protect the environment. The group worked on 15 campus "greening" projects, including pesticide reduction, water and energy conservation, and environmentally friendly building design.

"I wanted UCSC to be a model for other campuses by involving students in planning campus policies that protect the environment," said Choy, 21, who graduated from UCSC in June with a B.A. in legal studies.

For such a new organization, the SEC garnered broad support from students. A spring opinion poll asked students if they considered it important that the SEC receive funding and office space "in order to maintain a permanent and effective presence working towards a more sustainable campus," and 85 percent of more than 3,200 respondents said "yes."

The SEC attracted the attention of campus administrators, as well, 45 of whom showed up for a meeting with Will Toor, mayor of Boulder, Colorado. Toor runs the student environmental center in Boulder that inspired Choy to establish a similar organization at UCSC and to sponsor the campus's first Earth summit.

Frank Zwart, associate vice chancellor for physical planning and construction, and campus transportation planner Larry Pageler were among the faculty and staff attendees, recalled Jenny Anderson, program development coordinator in environmental studies and a member of the SEC's board of advisers. "It was really good," said Anderson. "They got the right people there. I was impressed."

Participants signed a memorandum of understanding calling for a "commitment to a more sustainable campus."

John Holloway, executive director for Student Development and Community Service at UCSC, had high praise for Choy. "She's awesome," said Holloway. "She's a go-getter with vision and lots of ideas."

From the beginning, Choy envisioned an organization that would have a lasting presence on campus, and Holloway confirmed that the SEC office at the new Student Union is a beehive of activity this fall.

"They're up and running," he said. "There are always students in there."

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