Sophie Brown

Senior Staff Writer

As a senior in high school, I was fortunate to see a lot of liberal arts campuses. I looked at women’s colleges on the east coast and hippie private schools in the west. After a while, they all start to blend together. So, out of the sea of frisbee teams and libraries that (gasp!) got quieter as you went up, how did I choose Oberlin? One of the top reasons was sustainability. That may be surprising to people who know me, given that I am a prospective Comparative Literature student. But I firmly believe that climate change is everyone’s problem, and therefore any of us — regardless of academic background — can be part of solving it. 

I started at Oberlin last fall, and I immediately sought out opportunities to get involved with climate justice on campus. That’s when I found the Green EDGE Fund, a student board that redistributes the $25 “green fee” paid semesterly by each student as grants for sustainability projects. I was hired as a first-year liaison in November, and since then, I have worked to fund everything from the removal of invasive plant species in the arboretum to an electric water heater in the Oberlin Heritage House. The network of enthusiastic students and community members that I have met through projects like these is astounding. I am fascinated by the niche areas of expertise cultivated by members, which provide them with the perfect toolset to develop sustainability projects on any scale.

Whether you know it or not, you have that potential too. Climate justice isn’t its own category of activism. It’s intertwined with racial justice, feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, accessibility, mental health, and so much more. My point is this: if you are passionate about any type of social change, your passion has to do with sustainability. And if you create a sustainability project, you can apply to have it funded by the GEF. In celebration of our spring proposal deadline coming up on March 6, here are three reasons to apply this grant cycle: 

Firstly, this is your money. Your green fee is going to an innovative project (take a look at the annual reports on our website for examples) no matter what. But how much more exciting would it be if it was one of your own ideas? While the financial burden of attending a liberal arts college like Oberlin is undoubtedly a complex issue, part of the reason why we pay or apply for scholarships to study here is to take advantage of programs that will invest these funds into our ideas and passions. At the GEF, our money is student money. We want you to use it for something you care about. 

Secondly, I wasn’t kidding when I said sustainability is a part of everything. What does this mean for your project? It doesn’t need to have measurable carbon reduction to be impactful (although it can!). Environmental art, such as the climate justice-focused production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar that we funded in 2024, is a great thing to submit to the GEF. Public climate communications are particularly important — for example, the Students for Energy Justice zine about  community members’ research on Northeast Ohio’s Indigenous history was supported by the GEF in 2024. Part of a club or organization? Consider a group project, like the 2023 thrifted and upcycled Black History Month fashion show. Co-ops, fear not! Your gardening and food rescue needs definitely fall under the category of sustainability. 

Lastly, your actions here have national impact. Many schools and organizations nationwide see Oberlin as a model of sustainability. The Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies has been nationally recognized for green construction since 2000, and a GEF-funded hybrid heat pump which will be installed in the new Oberlin Middle School serves as a case study for other public school systems shooting for carbon reduction and environmental education. You may feel like you’re in a liberal bubble, but I prefer to think of it as a tiny petri dish under a very big magnifying glass. Applying for funding from the GEF for a local sustainability project may just kickstart an entire movement. 

I came to Oberlin because I believed that my time here would prepare me to change the world. I’m willing to bet that, when you really get down to the root of your decision, that’s why you’re here, too. Regardless of your background, hometown, academic interest, or any of the other features that make us different, this desire to be impactful unites us. This is your call to turn that energy into action — submit for funding from the Green EDGE Fund by March 6, and start using your tuition to create sustainable change.