The Associated Students Environmental Affairs Committee is aiming to reinvent itself through new management, brought on this semester by Peter Garcia, the new AS Sustainability Senator.
The Environmental Affairs Committee, also known as EAC, is a campus committee advocating for a greener campus, composed of student volunteers and led by AS’s sustainability senator. They are a long-standing organization on campus dedicated to bringing awareness and implementing sustainable initiatives at Cal State Monterey Bay.
“I know EAC at one point was very, I’ll say, prolific on the campus,” said Garcia. “It was very, at least by appearances, they were larger. So they had more visibility and more attendance and more traction in terms of they kind of had their ear to the ground of what students were interested in in the sustainability sense. And so my goal is really to bring that back.”
Garcia, with his new leadership position, is in the phases of implementing new codes for the Committee. These codes will outline sustainable policies that AS will be advised to follow, along with what falls under AS control, that being Inter-Club Council, Sports Club Council and Otter Media.
There are seven sections in the draft process. The sections pertain to programming sustainable events, purchasing sustainable merchandise and office supplies, advocacy work, proper waste management and monitoring artificial intelligence usage.
“Last semester, I did a study abroad program in Australia. And I should say, I’m also an environmental science major. So I’m kind of always steeped in some sort of environment or sustainability-related coursework…” said Garcia. “I was looking partially for ways to apply what I’ve learned in my major and also what I learned in Australia because… Their ideas of sustainability appeared to be much more integrated and in the future I want to do environmental policy work.”
When the draft process is complete, the codes will be presented to the AS senate, with the intention to be approved and implemented by the end of the Fall 2026 semester.
If the codes are approved the sections will advise AS and the officers of ICC, SCC and Otter Media, individual clubs will not be affected. The Environmental Affairs Committee can not mandate every code be followed, they do recommend following the sections, where possible.
The committee will continue to collaborate with Safety Risk and Sustainability on campus this semester to host sustainability events for students. They estimate they will host one event in the fall semester, but in the spring semester, more events will be available to students. Every April, EarthFest commences which is a week or two full of activities to educate students about sustainability, in honor of Earth Day.
Before this semester, the EAC implemented a balloon ban on campus. Prohibiting the use of latex, Mylar and foil balloons at AS events, along with discontinuing the use of helium– a fossil fuel. This was the only code implemented by the committee, however EAC had started a campaign to divest funding of fossil fuels in 2020.
Awareness of the committee on campus fluctuates depending on the semester and goals of leadership – the AS sustainability senator position re-opens every academic year.
“Leadership fluctuates each year but we want to have a senator that is prepared with the skills and goals to carry on this committee,” said Joanna Iwata, senior coordinator of AS.
EAC is run by students. All are welcome to join and share their environmental concerns, either in-person on Wednesdays in the OSU from 12-1 pm or via email.
“What we focus on is EAC is largely set by what I’m told or what I gather from around,” said Garcia. “So if there is a sustainability challenge, an environmental challenge that is observed on campus, even if it’s East Campus, if it’s just generally the environment of campus, bring that to me. And we can talk about it.”