Reduce-Reuse-Recycle@Jewell

Reduce@Jewell

Lights – turn off your light if you are leaving any room for more than 15 minutes, including offices and common areas.

Computers – turn off computers and monitors at the end of the day.

Café/Cage – enjoy your meal with others in the cafeteria or the Cage instead of getting your food to go in a disposable container.

Printing – avoid printing papers and e-mails as much as possible. E-mail drafts to others for proofreading and see if you can turn in your assignments electronically. When you do need to print, print on both sides.

Books – check to see if you can find a book at the Library before you order it online. Reserving it from another library in KC is just as fast as waiting for shipping!


Reuse@Jewell

Bags – take tote bags with you when you shop.

The Perch – use your own coffee mug or travel mug instead of using disposable cups.

Water – carry a reusable bottle with you instead of grabbing a bottled water.

Paper – save paper and use the blank side for scratch paper before you recycle it.

Boxes – break down large cardboard boxes and save them for the end of the semester when you leave the dorm.


Recycle@Jewell

Paper – deposit the following paper products in the blue “Paper” receptacles located throughout the campus: copy paper, envelopes, magazines, newspaper, shredded paper (un-bagged).

Aluminum – deposit empty aluminum cans in the blue “Aluminum/Plastic” receptacles located throughout the campus.

Plastic – deposit empty plastic bottles in the blue “Aluminum/Plastic” receptacles located throughout the campus.

Cardboard – break down and deposit the cardboard products into the “Cardboard” receptacle located in the Residence Halls (more locations coming soon). Please be a good neighbor and break it down!


Do you have other ideas for Reduce-Reuse-Recycle@Jewell? Leave a comment and let us know what else we can be doing!

An Inspirational Movie

In Service-Learning class today I showed my students a great movie about Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement called Entertaining Angels.


Dorothy Day was involved in the women's suffragist movement and later was inspired by the message of Jesus she read in the Bible to open up her home to those who found themselves homeless in the great depression. This simple act grew into a worldwide movement of offering hospitality to the poor that still lives strong today.

There are hundreds of Catholic Worker houses and communities inspired by Dorothy Day around the world, continuing the work of hospitality and protest today; a few of them are right here in Kansas City. One community, Cherith Brook, is right up the street from my house in NE KC. I am taking my students to another, the Shalom House, next week to visit and serve the men who are staying there.

If you are interested in this movements, I encourage you to poke around the websites I have linked to above, rent Entertaining Angels, and pop in to one of the houses in your area. You will be welcomed!

Jewell students helping KC

Students Help Plaza Hotel Go Green

Being a good neighbor

This week in Chapel we heard from our friend Mahnaz Shabbir of Shabbir Advisors about how we can be more gracious, accepting, and understanding of our Muslim neighbors in Kansas City, the US, and around the world.

One of the most helpful questions she addressed was about misconceptions of Islam based on a few who seem to speak for Islam on an international level. She said,"It’s a challenge. It doesn’t help any when there are people who profess that they are of my faith and they do horrible things in the name of Islam." She reminded us that no matter what faith tradition from which you come, there are always others who profess the same faith that believe some things differently than you, sometimes radically different. We cannot judge all people of one faith tradition based on a few that we get information about. We do not do this with our own tradition, so we should not do it with others.

Shabbir also told us that the best way to learn more about Islam is to get to know some Muslim people who live right here with us in the Kansas City area. I know from personal experience that getting to know someone is the best way to break down stereotypes. In a summer job in St. Louis between semesters when I was in college at Jewell I worked with some Bosnian refugees who were also Muslim and I learned a lot by listening to their experiences and perspectives, and sharing my own with them.

Shabbir gave us many practical suggestions of how we might go about meeting some Muslim neighbors in Kansas City and learn more about Islam on a personal level, which I will share with you below:

• Arab-American Women Conference: March 12-15 at K State University, Manhattan, KS
• Peace Rally for the Human Race: Sat March 14, 3:30-5:00 pm. Vigil and rally on the 6^th anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. Mill Creek Park, 47^th & Main, KC MO.
• Breaking Bread Together: Sat March 14 5:30-7pm. Dinner with KC area Iraqi Refugees and Iraq War Veterans. Community Christian Church 4601 Main, KC MO. rsvp required.
• Journey of Refugees from Muslim countries to KC: Sun Mar 29, 2-4pm. Hear from immigrants from Muslim countries talk about their places of birth, their journeys to KC, how they settled here, and how Jewish Vocational Services and Catholic Charities have helped in the resettlement process. UMKC. Crescent Peace Society.
• Islamic Center of Northland-Kansas City
• Islamic Center of Greater Kansas City
• Al-Inshirah Islamic Center: 3664 Troost Ave. KC, MO 64110 816-960-0475. Primarily African-American Muslims and Muslims who work downtown.
• Greater KC Interfaith Council
• Gainpeace.com
• Recieve an e-newsletter about events and news about Muslims around the world. An alternative to mainstream American media coverage of Islam. Subscribe by e-mailing amc_heartland@yahoo.com
• Read The Faith Club book written by three women, Muslim, Jewish, Christian who got to know each other and share their story.
  

Something fun for Friday afternoon

Recycling Conversionator

Green ideas for dorms?

I just found an article from the Utne Reader about environmental sustainability and the unique challenges apartment dwelling brings to the table. I know many of our students here have similar concerns about living in the dorms. We as a college community are working on ways we can address the sustainability of our campus and dorms, but what can you the students do on your individual level? I think the article about apartments has some good ideas that apply to dorm living too.

• your choice of cleaing products (provided you ever clean that thing that is!)
• use programmable and/or smart power strips
• reduce the amount of meat and processed foods you eat in the cafeteria and in the dorms
  
• use less hot water
• turn lights and things off when you're not using them
• join the 350 Green Campaign!
  

There's a LOT more where these ideas came from in the article itself. Check it out.

Are there things that you do in dorms or apartments that you would share with us?

Fuel Efficiency

Check out this visual about fuel efficiency. Nothing brings the concept home like these images.
Getting Around @ Good Magazine

In the news

We got our first news coverage in the Hilltop Monitor (Vol. 23, Issue 14).

Campus Kitchens Project coming to Jewell

This year's Pryor Fellows are bringing Campus Kitchens to Jewell for their legacy project. Go here to find out more about this exciting project.

Beautiful Weather

My wife and I took advantage of the beautiful weather in Kansas City yesterday to do some laundry. "Why would you do that on such a day?!" you might ask. Well, because we love to dry our clothes outside in the breeze and sun.


As we have become more conscious of our carbon footprint in the last few years, line drying our laundry was one thing that we were holding out on. It just seemed like so much more work. We always made lots of excuses while we lived in apartments, even though our good friends and neighbors who lived right upstairs found creative ways to line dry theirs. When we bought a house most of the excuses we had made for years were even less valid than before, so we decided to give it a try. Turns out, it is not nearly as much work as it seems, and in fact it is quite enjoyable. I have grown to really enjoy the 10 quiet minutes after each load while I stand in the breeze and sunshine hanging up clothes.

This spring as we see more and more of these beautiful days like we had yesterday, why don't you consider investing $5 in a clothesline and find the nearest tree to give it a try. What's the worst that could happen?

Now, if you're living in the college dorms, or just have a small apartment, you have good options for line drying your laundry too. For around $20 you can head over to your favorite retailer and get a drying rack with 25 feet of space, all in a compact rack that fits in the corner of your room and then folds up nicely. We use these in the winter for inside drying. I know $20 sounds like a lot to spend on laundry, but when you think about all those quarters going into the dryer every week, $20 goes pretty quickly.

From here on out it's pretty simple. Enjoy the smell and feel of your clothes that no amount of "summer breeze" fabric softener can ever duplicate. There are lots of tips all over the internet for the best ways to hang what items and so one, or better yet, ask your grandma!

Do you have any tips for line drying your clothes? Have you ever done this before? What is holding you back from trying it? Leave your comments here and check back to see what others think about the idea.

p.s. We didn't just enjoy the nice weather by doing chores - we also left the laundry hanging for a while and took the motorcycle out for a spin too!

The website is live

The official website for the Center is now up and running. If you're ever wanting to check it out and missing a link for it, you can find it at www.jewell.edu in the "Distinctives" drop down menu.