Maymester Course: Environmental Social Marketing

EST 496/696

May 17 – May 28 (M, T, W, Th, F)

9:30am-2:00pm

Instructor: Bruno Takahashi

Recycle, turn off the lights, ride the bus, use less water, reduce consumption. Wonder how to get people to effectively and permanently engage in these behaviors?

This new 3-credit course is intended to provide students in communications, business, and public policy, among others, with an introduction to the current theory and practice in the emerging field of social marketing, and its application to promote pro-environmental behavior change.

You will learn the tools that commercial marketers successfully use to sell their products and services, drawing from a wide range of disciplines including communications, psychology, and sociology. We will focus on the ways in which social marketing techniques can be used in conjunction with other approaches such as policies, education, and information to influence voluntary behavior change. This course could be used towards communication option or methods requirements, or just as an elective.

Finding Housing

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It's that time of the year: time to find a roommate.

Here are my tips on finding housing.

Most students live in the Westcott neighborhood, off of (Outer) Comstock Ave., or in Nob Hill. If you want to be within walking distance of most other ESF grad students, look in the Westcott area. Generally, the closer to campus you live, the more undergraduates you'll find. This may mean "party time", be forewarned.

Roosevelt Ave., Miles Ave., Westcott St., Allen St., Westmoreland Ave., these are all streets that have more graduate students and families on them. These streets are not nearly as wild on a weekend night as the ones closer to campus.

The ESF Graduate Student Association just started a rent/sublet forum. Search housing, sublets, post if you're looking for a roommate:

http://esfgsa.webs.com/apps/forums/

Another site that people often use to find apartments is Orange Housing:

http://www.orangehousing.com/

Plus, there is always Craigslist:

http://syracuse.craigslist.org/search/hhh

Expect to pay from $275-$450 before utilities, up to $550 with utilities included. Good luck!

Living: Tipperary Hill

Located on the West Side of Syracuse, Tipperary Hill is a great neighborhood, only a short commute from campus. A handful of students live there, encouraged by a preponderance of split-level homes, and a young, festive atmosphere, especially around St. Patrick's Day.

Originally a predominantly Irish neighborhood of Syracuse, the area is still true to its roots, hosting the Tipp Hill Shamrock Run, and famosly the location where green beer is delivered by tanker truck to Coleman's Pub.

On a more historical note, Tipp Hill, as it is known to residents, is home to the world's only upside-down stoplight. In the 1920s, the children of Irish immigrants, in their hatred of the British, would throw rocks at the stoplight at the corner of Tompkins St. and Milton Ave to knock out the "British" red light that hung over the "Irish" green. When the city realized this problem would not go away, an upside-down stoplight, with the green on top, was installed at the intersection.

The Palace Theater

The Palace Theater, on James St. in the Eastwood neighborhood, is a one-of-a-kind venue, active in the community since its opening in 1922. It hosts current movies, 35mm cult film triple-features, and other assorted events. Recently, I caught "Invictus", the story of Nelson Mandela and the South African rugby team, at The Palace shortly after it left the main theaters. I went there with some ESF classmates to see "Total Recall" and "Conan the Barbarian", and was greeted by nerdy trivia and prize giveaways between shows.

As part of the same Brew & View series, Monty Python's "Life of Brian", "Time Bandits" and "Brazil" will be showing on Saturday, May 1. Don't miss "The Big Lebowski" on May 21.

Additionally, if you are so inclined, The Palace is generally the venue to catch a rousing Halloween showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show (something I have yet to experience).

The Westcott Community Center

Housed in a former firehouse at the corner of Westcott St. and Euclid Ave., the Westcott Community Center is a hub of local activity, from bands and community meetings, to art exhibitions. It has also hosted ESF departmental potlucks with students and faculty, and can be rented for any event.

Among the activities it hosts:

- Figure drawing

- African dance and drumming

- University Neighbors Lecture Series

- Karate

- Exercise classes

It is also home to a GED program, as well as a childrens' after-school program.

The Westcott -- as it was called, especially before the movie theater down the street also converted to a concert venue -- is perhaps best known for hosting local young and amateur music acts in an alcohol-free venue friendly to highschool students. Concertgoers still gather on spring and summer evenings to pass the time outside before a show.

In the meantime, tune in online to Westcott Radio, also housed at the Community Center.

Sustainability in Action: Biodiesel Production

Dirty cooking oil does not go to waste on the ESF or Syracuse University campuses.

Several times each month, it is gathered in 55-gallon plastic drums and deposited at the old greenhouses on the ESF campus. When heated, cleaned, and processed with methanol and an acid catalyst, it is ready to be mixed and used to power campus vehicles. Biodiesel production involves students at every step of the process, from collection to creation.

Mike Kelleher, ESF Director of Renewable Energy, often integrates the biodiesel project with students' classwork. Engineering students may redesign the biodiesel processing unit, while environmental science students may compute a cost-benefit analysis of expanding the current system.

ESF stores its biodiesel - mixed with petroleum diesel at 5% for winter and 10% in the summer - next to the fuel cell and ethanol tanks behind Walters Hall.

To read more, click here, or visit the project page for even more in-depth information on multiple biodiesel-related projects.

Sustainability in Action: Fuel Cell

ESF's very own fuel cell was dedicated on February 21, 2006. Since its installation, it has provided approximately 17% of campus energy needs (at 250 kW/hour). It does so with close to 0 emissions, through an efficient process that utilizes oxygen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen from natural gas. In the winter, excess heat from the unit is used, by means of a heat exchanger, to heat adjacent Walters Hall.

To read more about our fuel cell, and check out a diagram of the electricity generation process, click here.