Campus Sustainability: It's About People By David Newport

In David Newport’s article, “Campus Sustainability: It’s About People”, he discusses the issues within many colleges’ approaches to sustainability. Newport notes that sustainability is often broken up into three sections: “environmental protection, fiscal equity, and social justice.” (239) However, he points out that the last aspect of sustainability, social justice, is largely ignored in favor of more “eco-centric” and economic programs that will benefit a college in terms of reputation or finances. According to Newport, this is a fatal mistake. He asserts that “for campus sustainability to escape a death sentence, we must put people first.” (242). This means that, in order for college ventures in sustainability to be successful, preservation of social justice and cultural diversity must also be a part of their programs. In light of this critique, Aquinas’ sustainability programs, although environmentally sufficient, are not adequate because of their lack of thorough consideration for social sustainability.
According to Aquinas’ website, the college’s goals for sustainability are to “Improve the health of natural systems, enhance the quality of life for the Aquinas community and our neighbors,” and “increase the long-term financial stability of the college.” These …show more content…
However, in Newport’s article, his point is that people should be a priority in campus sustainability, not an afterthought. In looking at Aquinas in terms of Newport’s critique, it also should not be overlooked that environmental sustainability programs outweigh the social and economic sustainability programs by a large margin. Newport asserts that many campuses need to be more than just “green”; they need to be “focusing on people - people at risk, people who bear the brunt of societal problems”