Photo: Greener Foundations by Shayna Clayton
By Sonia Boeger
During 2019 fall and winter quarters, first-year Greeners enrolled in specific 16 credit academic programs will take a pilot program called Greener Foundations (GF). This program is described by the Irrepressible Bodies-Greener Foundations Week 1 presentation as a “holistic first-year student success course.” It is based on first year programs at colleges and universities across the United States. Students receive two credits per quarter for Introduction to Liberal Arts Education, and practice study, health, and wellness skills. The course is designed to help students have an easier adjustment to college, by participating in GF for two hours a week.
So far, the program has worked on a variety of activities, such as: creating a wellness wheel, grounding exercises, community potlucks, and a resource relay. During week two of GF, students also discovered how different on-campus services help individuals with holistic wellness. Among these were the Student Activities Center, Student Equity and Arts Longue, and Access Services. Students also worked on grounding exercises, which helped them detach from emotional pain. The facilitators went over three types of grounding: mental, physical, and soothing. In the program Irrepressible Bodies: Hope, Health, and Resilience in a Turbulent World, first-year student Anahi Garcia found the grounding exercises particularly helpful.
“I really liked them [the grounding exercises],” Garcia said. “Personally, it was a hard week for me, so they were very beneficial when the time came for it.”
While some students value GF exercises, some are opposed to the potlucks—where students have to bring a food item. In a classroom setting, multiple students remarked that it is unjust to have to purchase a food item, when they are already paying for the course through tuition. Other students are displeased with being required to take GF as part of their full-time academic program. Another program that implements this course is From the Earth: The History, Story, and Social Justice of Farming in the United States. Some students, such as Abbey Maroney, did not know that Greener Foundations was a part of this program until attending their first class. Maroney, specifically, wishes GF was an optional or separate course.
“People in my program who are on a tight schedule aren’t very in to being forced to go to the program,” Maroney said.
“Some people have asked teachers: ‘If I’m fine not getting Greener Foundation credits and I just want to skip out on that part, and do everything else for this class, will it affect my attendance?’ And the teachers have said ‘No you have to attend, otherwise we will mark you down for attendance.’”
The Evergreen State College is one of many campuses that has adopted a required first-year program. The manager of the Science Support Center, Kaylie Adney, is one of two teachers for the GF course. They were interested in the program since they first heard about it at a staff community meeting.
“There was a team of staff, faculty, and administration who were working on ways to connect more with our first-year students—to help them with thriving in college and to increase retention in the first year,” Adney said.
“I talked to Trevor Spelling and Jadyn Berry about it and thought it was a really good idea.”
First-year programs can be helpful to certain students, but can also take up too much time for students with a busy or hectic schedule. However, Greener Foundations is a pilot program and could be altered in future years. GF teachers take weekly feedback from students and are taking it into account for planning future lessons.
