The Final Blog

1. Explain how the trayless dining campaign followed or deviated from the steps in a social marketing plan as outlined below.
a. campaign purpose
b. campaign focus
c. target audience
d. competition
e. objectives
f. marketing mix
g. implementation plan
h. evaluation plan

On a whole, I think that we stayed fairly in line with the social marketing scheme. We definitely managed to define our focuses, the audience, the competition (or rather, they made themselves very visible...thanks Tyler Cooper,) and the objectives. Of course, we haven't technically finished our campaign, so a number of ends were left untied. Our marketing mix, while brainstormed, never really came to fruition. Additionally, while we compiled a comprehensive implementation plan, the closest we have come was to deliver it, rather than carry it out. And since plan has not created quantitative results, it is impossible to have implemented an evaluation plan. The main impediments to the final 3 tenets are that Patti has heard us out and I think, besides further lobbying next semester, the fate is the trayless initiative is mostly in her hands. I think the biggest tangent from the plan is that ultimately, our attempt to get the administration to remove trays is not so much creating a sustainable behavior change in the student body and an effective environmental campaign that encourages students and administrators to support environmental initiatives.

2. Create an evaluation plan to evaluate the success of the trayless dining campaign. How will you determine during and after the campaign that it is going according to plan and has succeeded or met with limited or no success?

First step to evaluating the success is to see that the initial proposal is accepted and acted upon by Dining Services. Because our goal is to fully remove trays from the dining hall, I think that the best way to evaluate the success would be to guage students' reactions to trayless dining. To be able to have running data showing the student body's acceptance over the weeks of the trial period and or the actual program are crucial to seeing if it is a worthwhile endeavor (if majority of students resent it, then it might be more useful to put our energies towards something else.) However, the opinions on those working behind the scenes in the dining halls should also be surveyed to see how they like the new setup - removing trays will inevitably change their jobs a bit and a successful initiative would be one that not only looks to create positive change for students, but also for workers. Additional measures can be taken in measuring the increase in broken dishes, reductions in food waste, water use and energy use. I think that, although success could be established if the trial period goes according to plan and is well received by the students and TUDS, that it would only be tentative until the whole campus has been trayless for at least a semester and both the benefits outweigh the costs and students appear to have accepted the behavior change thrust upon them.

3. How has learning about your own behavior choices enabled you to better understand creating change? How has learning about behavior and psychology affected your conversations about environmental issues with others (friends, family, peers, etc)? Consider the effect of cognitive dissonance, the behavioral challenges, group discussions, and learning of why behavior happens.

I think that the action of learning about our own behaviors is a very important tool for anyone looking to seek self-improvement and a lifestyle that reflects their own beliefs and personal standards. For those seeking to affect change in others, understanding on one's own thought-process is also invaluable. For example, the idea that different people respond better or worse to different reasoning is important to recognize - if a person seeking to spread an idea only ever approaches from one angle, they are severely limiting the reception of their message. I like to think that I was somewhat cognizant of this before this class, but now when I have conversations about the environment (or even other diving issues like politics) I am much more acutely aware of what sorts of reasons my peers give and try to adjust my arguments to align with their interests. For example, I usually find that scolding people for their enviro-infractions from my tall green tower is rarely effective at sending a constructive message that might affect changed behavior. I also know, more so now than before, that people don't always act how they say they will, leading to uncomfortable situations for themselves (cognitive dissonance.) CD is a powerful motivator and (although this sounds a little underhanded,) if you can create/recognize that dissonance and then appeal to it in a way that doesn't put them on the offense, it becomes much easier convince someone of something.

4. Has your knowledge of environmental issues increased? How? What are you more aware of now than you were at the beginning of the class?

Of all the things that we covered in class, the one which I felt most uninformed about and, thus, learned the most from was what kinds of things Tufts and other schools are doing to promote sustainability on their campuses. I knew that Tufts had ranked highly with the Sierra Club ratings in years past, but I wasn't really sure of the specifics. One of the examples that stuck with me most was that Tufts tries to utilize their buildings fully before building something new (rather than just building a bunch of new LEED certified buildings for the green visibility.) In all our research through class and the symposium, it was fascinating to see what other schools are doing and how they go about creating those aspects of sustainability.

5. What do you think are the most reliable sources of information? In what ways do you assess the accuracy and bias of information sources?

One of my high school teachers didn't accept any website sources except for those from .gov and .edu websites. I find now, that perhaps even those aren't always reliable. The best bits of information appear to be directly from where the research, investigation or study was conducted and then an analysis of what groups sponsored that information (because that can taint the results in a very dramatic way.) I think rather than look for that one "reliable" source, a survey of a number of sources is useful. To see opposing ideas as well as additional studies that are congruent with the facts you are citing allows for the knowledge that you are actually presenting some of the most truthful information available.

6. Do you feel that having a community of like-minded people to talk to motivates you to work towards creating a change? Where do you seek out these communities? How useful was the class in creating a community for you?

I love having a community of like-minded individuals - in such situations, the creative ability to generate ideas and motivate group-members to pursue their similar goals is incredible. That being said, I think it is important also to participate in groups that are not completely like-minded. They allow you to view the issues you are passionate about through a different lens, and find even more ways in which to support, augment or generate ideas surrounding your own goals. That was one reason I liked our class was that it was a neat balance of people who, although were all generally interested in the environment, often had different values, interests, and backgrounds, which allowed for one of the most diverse groups of environment-minded students I have been a part of. At Tufts, in the realm of environmentalism, there are so many student with passions for sustainability, but the only major environmental organization on campus, ECO, is large and disorganized. Members of TMC are often passionate, too. The most I didn before this class was talk with friends about things and work with Hillel Moral Voices last year when Environmental Justice was their theme. However, it it hard to seek out organized communities focused on generating ideas about supporting sustainability. That's why this class was so novel, because it was a think tank, a group working together to create huge ripples in the Tufts community. On top of that, despite the lack of greater Facebook group created, I feel like the connections we made at the Eco Reps Symposium are a very unique and excitingly large network of people that I could always contact with questions and ideas about environmental initiatives.

7. Do you think you will continue to shift from saying to doing? If yes, explain how you think you will maintain your enthusiasm.

Of course! It won't be easy at times, and will definitely require some reminders and reassessments at times; however, I know that I can do it. I am more set than ever on pursuing my Environmental Studies major and am also looking into internships for the summer that revolve around environmental issues. This coming summer/fall I am living off campus on my own, where I am excited to implement an eco-fascist regime - so much so that I am already planning things out! On a more personal level, I don't know specifically what I can do other than try to stay honest with myself. I am already excited about environmental issues and am optimistic about continuing to spread to message, but I think the best way for me to do that is twofold. First, I need to keep learning - reading the news, reading about revelations in sustainability initiatives, keep attuned to what Tufts is doing and how I can lower my impact on the earth as much as possible. Secondly, I need to keep myself honest, and I can do that by responding to the dissonance I feel. It won't be easy, but if I recruit friends to keep me on track and verbalize aloud when I am feeling disosnant, I think that it will work at keeping me in line.