The Student Sustainability Committee and Environmental Student Assembly hosted the fourth annual Student Sustainability Town Hall on Wednesday night at the Davidson Continuing Education Center. Students engaged in a Q&A with President Carol Folt and faculty leaders in sustainability to gain insight into the University’s current progress and future goals.

Drawing on her memory of the first-ever Earth Day in 1970, Folt said she has seen growth in the number and demographics of people who are now concerned about the planet.

“It is the truth [of] a big movement that it can’t stay in one place,” Folt said. “It has to reach, it has to go out. It has to manifest itself through the arts, through music, through how we run our buildings, through the ESA.”

In response to questions from students, the panel said USC will continue to place value on its current sustainability initiatives moving forward.

“When the federal government or any other government in this world doesn’t make climate their priority, plenty of other people do,” said Monica Dean, climate and sustainability practice director at USC Dornsife Public Exchange.

Folt said the University doesn’t have the funds to replace the budget cuts and that the current strategy is to figure out how to utilize the funds it has at the moment.

“It’s such a big and expansive network right now that I think it’s been really hard to get rid of us,” said Mahta Moghaddam, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of research for the USC Center for Sustainability Solutions. “I’m very hopeful that sustainability is an established mindset that will continue thriving.” 

Students also asked about plans for the future after Folt steps down as president July 1, given Folt’s experience in sustainability and plans for the university. Both Folt and the panel anticipate sustainability initiatives to continue and expand further at USC.

Folt said she expects the next president to continue being committed to “all things green.” 

After her tenure, Folt said she hopes the University will contribute to efforts to make the 2028 Summer Olympics the “greenest Olympics ever.” 

Additionally, she hopes USC will adjust its curriculum to include a sustainability graduation requirement, which has already been in discussion among students, staff and faculty at an academic senate meeting in the fall.

Folt also said the University plans to be carbon neutral by the end of the year, which will require many new strategies for carbon offsetting to be implemented.

Mick Dalrymple, USC’s chief sustainability officer, advised students to fill out a form on the University’s presidential search website, where they can provide input on what they hope to see in the next president, including continued prioritization of sustainability initiatives.

The University is also working on “fleshing out research themes” for the University’s sustainability-related projects in order to better align them with global efforts.

Shannon Gibson, a professor of environmental studies, started off by recommending that students refer to Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s climate Venn diagram as a starting point in getting more involved in sustainability efforts. She said the diagram guides students toward sustainable initiatives catered to their interests. 

“If you find things that are joyful and build that into your activism, activism or your advocacy, it’s more fulfilling, it’s more freeing, it’s more liberating,” Gibson said.

Based on her prior experience working with the United Nations, where she helped combat unsustainable federal legislation, Dean emphasized the importance of collaborating in groups that support sustainability initiatives, regardless of the perceived impact.

“Find your coalition of like-minded partners. Figure out where you want to focus, where there’s agreement between everyone and you can go and make a path forward,” Dean said. “Maybe it’s not the most ambitious outcome, but it’s something more simple that you all have in common.”

Gibson said that while many people search for things they can do as individuals to combat climate change, there is no solution that can be taken on by one individual, and that the issue stems from “all aspects of our economic system.”

“Personal responsibility and decarbonization as an individual [are] important but so are challenging systems — challenging the economic and political systems that allow the status quo to maintain and to stay is incredibly important,” Gibson said.