Anderson+Abstract

The aim of this study is to advance our understanding of facilitators of environmental activism among college students. It will draw on and extend scholarly literatures that examine environmental activism, youth and college culture, and political movements. Data for this study will be collected interviews with college environmental club leaders and people on the board of directors of organizations working on college sustainability. News articles on student environmental activism will also be used both for media perceptions of student activism as well as to find the impacts of it. Expected results of this study show that many student environmental activists were already environmentalists before coming to college, student environmentalism is key to their political activism in the future, and college administrations render sustainability clubs ineffective with bureaucracy and lack of support. As a result, more administrative support for environmental clubs is needed. Environmental education during and before the college years will also help students in their environmental activism pursuits.