Here is a project that can be utilized in different ways in service
learning or community service learning contexts, as well as in classes.
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Neil Wollman, Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of
Psychology; Manchester College, N. Manchester, IN 46962; 260-982-5346; fax
260-982-5043; [log in to unmask]
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GRADUATION PLEDGE ALLIANCE
Humboldt State University (California) initiated the Graduation Pledge of
Social and Environmental Responsibility. It states, "I pledge to explore
and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job
I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for
which I work." Students define what being "responsible" means to
themselves. Students at over a hundred colleges and universities have used
the pledge at some level, at schools which range in size from Whitman, to
Harvard, to University of Wisconsin. This now includes some schools
overseas, graduate and professional schools, and high schools. Graduates
who voluntarily signed the pledge have turned down jobs they did not feel
morally comfortable with and have worked to make changes once on the job.
For example, they have promoted recycling at their organization, removed
racist language from a training manual, worked for gender parity in high
school athletics, and helped to convince an employer to refuse a chemical
weapons-related contract.
Manchester College now coordinates the campaign effort, which has taken
different forms at different institutions. At Manchester, it is a
community-wide event involving students, faculty, and staff. Typically,
fifty percent of students sign and keep a wallet-size card stating the
pledge, while students and supportive faculty wear green ribbons at
commencement and the pledge is printed in the formal commencement program.
Depending upon the school, it might take several years to reach this level
of institutionalization. If one can just get a few groups/departments
involved, and get some media attention on (and off) campus, it will get
others interested and build for the future. The project has been covered in
newspapers around the country(e.g., USA Today,Chicago Tribune, Washington
Post, and Boston Globe), as well as being covered in magazines, national
radio networks, and local T.V. stations.
The pledge helps educate and motivate one to contribute to a better world.
Think of the impact if even a significant minority of the one million
college graduates each year signed and carried out the Pledge.
PLEASE KEEP US INFORMED OF ANY PLEDGE EFFORTS YOU UNDERTAKE, AS WE TRY TO
MONITOR WHAT IS HAPPENING, AND PROVIDE PERIODIC UPDATES ON THE NATIONAL
EFFORT. Contact [log in to unmask] for
information/questions/comments; or write GPA, MC Box 135, Manchester
College, 604 E. College Ave., North Manchester, IN 46962. The Campaign
also has a web site, at
http://www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/files/gpa.html
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