The Red, Blue & Green Freshman Interest Group will be housed in Residential College South. Photo by UM photographer Kevin Bain
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi will be home to a new residential learning experience, one focusing on environmental sustainability, when the 2015-2016 academic year begins. The Red, Blue & Green Freshman Interest Group is accepting applications from incoming freshmen for its inaugural community, which will be housed in Residential College South.
A Freshman Interest Group, or FIG, is a specific community for first-year students in which they live, learn and grow together. Students in the Red, Blue & Green FIG will take a sustainability-related course and participate in field trips and service opportunities to learn and experience environmental sustainability and conservation together as a community.
“We want to provide incoming freshman an opportunity to fully immerse themselves in sustainability initiatives at Ole Miss,” said Sara Douglass, post-baccalaureate fellow in the Office of Sustainability, who helped develop the program. “Through their participation in the FIG, students will be equipped with change agent skills to create a meaningful impact on sustainability at UM.”
The Office of Sustainability, Department of Student Housing and Residential College South will host the community of about 20 students.
“Offering communities that are tailored specifically to students’ lifestyles and interests is key in realizing our vision of becoming essential in the development of each residential student,” said Jennifer McClure, assistant director of student housing for marketing. “The Red, Blue, & Green FIG is the newest of our freshman residential communities, and we are excited to partner with the Office of Sustainability to provide this experience. As we increase our focus on sustainability as a university, it is our hope that current and former Red, Blue, & Green FIG members will be the innovators and leaders of that movement, inspiring sustainable practices across our campus and state.”
All the students in the community will complete a course designed to facilitate conversation about environmental sustainability. The class will also provide opportunities to discuss common coursework and readings.
In addition to the academic aspect, students in the FIG will participate in a variety of leadership and service-related activities to help them develop an understanding of their carbon footprint, energy and water consumption, and sustainability initiatives on campus. FIG programming will range from field trips and lectures to shared meals in the residential college dining hall and work in community gardens.
Incoming freshmen can apply to live in the FIG as part of their housing applications. The application deadline is April 1. To learn more, click here or contact Sara Douglass at green@olemiss.edu.