DeiSic, a 24-hour think-tank and contest which began Sunday afternoon, challenged students to team up, develop, flesh out and present potential campus sustainability projects.
This year was the first year of deiSic, but Jeremy Koob ’17, one of the primary leaders of the event, hopes that it will become an annual event at Brandeis and help to promote a culture of sustainability on campus.
The event, which took place in the Shapiro Campus Center (SCC), was directly linked with the Brandeis Sustainability Fund (BSF), a $50,000 fund which “provides financial support for Brandeis undergraduate students willing to undertake projects and/or activities to improve Brandeis’ environmental sustainability,” according to the Brandeis website.
One of the main goals of deiSic was to get more people to apply for funding from the BSF. “Most people don’t even know [the BSF] exists,” Koob told The Brandeis Hoot in an interview.
The BSF has granted money to students for initiatives like last year’s waste reduction initiative. In an effort to reduce the amount of cups that are thrown away each day, BSF allowed the group to give away 1,000 reusable mugs, which are still being distributed to students on campus, according to Sophie Freije ’17, president of Students for Environmental Action (SEA) and a judge at deiSic.
Flip the Switch, a project idea presented by Rabeya Hussaini ’20, Miranda Lassar ’20 and Lindsay Weiner ’18, was selected as the winner of deiSic by a panel of judges consisting mostly of Brandeis staff and faculty. “This app creates a lot of potential for Brandeis to reduce its carbon footprint with relatively low financial investment,” said Freije.
The deliberation was brief and judges “talked about each idea holistically, primarily considering each project’s financial and logistical feasibility, environmental impact and community impact,” Freije said.
Flip the Switch envisioned a smartphone application in which students could sign up for shifts in the evening to patrol academic buildings on campus, record lights that have been left on and turn them off if possible.
DeiSic was “a great way to meet people with different skill sets,” Weiner told The Hoot in an interview. The group plans to apply for funding from the BSF as well as funding from SPARK, another Brandeis program which “provides pilot funding for innovative projects that involve the environment, education, computer science, healthcare, economic solutions or social needs,” according to the Brandeis website. SPARK funding would go towards developing and patenting the smartphone application, according to the group.
Flip the Switch was just one of the five projects presented by groups participating in deiSic. Other projects included providing more access to composting on campus and in residence halls, creating a green study space inhabited by plants, creating a place on campus where students could drop off used and unwanted items which could be procured by other students or donated, and a revolving fund which would put money saved from sustainable projects towards new sustainability projects. “It was really difficult to decide on the winning idea, because a lot of the projects were innovative and tackled different aspects of sustainability on campus,” said Freije.
During the deiSic think-tank process, mentors were available to consult with participants, provide advice and help them think about their ideas in new ways. Mentors included Manager of Sustainability Programs Mary Fischer, Professor Sabine von Mering (WMGS/GRAL) and Freije.
Approximately 50 people were originally signed up for deiSic but only about 40 people turned out to the event, according to Koob. He said that the event was an overall success and he hopes and expects to see even more people show up next year.
