MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — The Sunday Night Group. On the Middlebury campus, elsewhere in Vermont and now in wider circles, the prosaically named student organization has become synonymous with commitment, energy and activism. So it should come as no surprise that "Ideas into Action," the seventh annual statewide conference for college students interested in community service, activism and social change, would reach out to Middlebury's "SNG," a coalition of students dedicated to global sustainability and social justice, to help energize its weekend of events.
Representing the Sunday Night Group at the conference, held November 10-12 at Vermont College in Montpelier, were Middlebury junior Claire Polfus and sophomores Corinne Almquist, Sierra Murdoch and Chester Harvey. Organized for the seventh year by Vermont Campus Compact, in partnership this year with the Vermont Campus Energy Group, Ideas into Action brought together more than 100 student activists from around the state, including a total of about a dozen from Middlebury, many of whom were sponsored by the College's Alliance for Civic Engagement.
The conference opened Friday evening with a dinner, a presentation on building "whole communities," and a screening of the film "The Red Wagon," concerning the problem of hunger in Vermont. A long day followed on Saturday, beginning with a yoga session at 6:30 a.m., and then workshops, lunch, more workshops, lectures, dinner, a concert, and contra dancing into the night.
It then fell to Almquist and her SNG colleagues to help the entire group recover and get ready for another big day. The Sunday Night Group got things started Sunday morning with what Almquist called "a round of 'grassroots calisthenics,' reaching for our high goals and impersonating wind turbines. We also had all the students break into groups, and each group received a random object — for example, a ski pole or a telephone — and each group had to come up with how they could use that object to inspire action on a certain issue, and then present it in a skit. Some groups were really creative!"
Later that day, SNG presented a workshop for students from the University of Vermont, Sterling College and Champlain College. "It was an informal workshop where we showed them how Sunday Night Group functions," Almquist said, "and why it's so effective for Middlebury College. We gave them some ideas on how to raise support for actions on their campus, and encouraged them to develop communication among students and their school and at other schools across Vermont."
Also during the weekend, SNG led a lunch meeting, Almquist said, "where we got people excited about leading a statewide action in the late winter or early spring to combat climate change, along the same lines as the bike ride from Burlington to Montpelier that took place last year. Students from all different schools were eager to take part in planning the action, which could serve as the first step in building a really strong community of student leaders across Vermont."
Vermont Campus Compact is a consortium of 22 colleges and universities in the state, whose presidents recognized the essential role played by higher education in advancing social, economic and environmental sustainability while preparing future leaders. The Vermont Campus Energy Group, partnering with VCC for the first time this year in presenting Ideas into Action, was established to help Vermont's colleges and universities embrace energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
— Tim Etchells
director, interactive communications