This orientation gives incoming MES Students a chance to meet their fellow first-year students, some faculty members, and representatives from MESSA (the MES Student Association). Additional information is provided about the MES Program, and students will have a chance to ask any questions they may have.

Join Producer/Director Jeff Barrie for the screening of his film Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America, and discover:

• the environmental impacts of coal-fired energy production, including mountain-top removal mining, soot, mercury, and CO2 emissions
• tips for saving hundreds of dollars on your electricity bill
• how to encourage public utilities to produce more electricity from renewable resources

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A, facilitated by Jeff Barrie.

Sponsored by:

League of Women Voters Education Fund
The People Speak
MES Program and the College of Charleston
League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area
The Sierra Club - Lunz Group
Renaissance Charleston Hotel - Historic District (guest accommodations for the Barrie family)

We hope that everyone will come out and join us for Beach Sweep/River Sweep this Saturday (9/16/06) from 9:00 am until Noon at Waterfront Park in Downtown Charleston.

We are meeting by the Pineapple statue in Waterfront Park. We will be working during low-tide, however, our area floods during high tide so expect it to be soft and wet. Please come dressed to work in a marsh intertidal zone.

Beach Sweep/River Sweep has occurred since 1988 and is the largest one-day volunteer event of its kind in South Carolina. To learn more about it, go to this site

Dr. Bron Taylor will present a lecture on The Spirituality, Ritualizing and Activism of Radical Environmentalism. Dr. Taylor is Samuel S. Hill Professor of Religion and Environmental Ethics at the University of Florida. His edited volume, Ecological Resistance Movements: the Global Emergence of Radical and Popular Environmentalism was one of the first volumes to critically examine such social movements around the world. Two books in progress will examine radical environmentalism in North America, and the growth worldwide of diverse forms of religious perception and environmental action that he calls "Dark Green Religion."

Dr. Taylor's lecture is sponsored by the departments of Religious Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology & Anthropology, and the Master of Science in Environmental Studies (MES) Program.

Join local author Dick Cote for a presentation on the 1886 Charleston Earthquake.

The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion with members of the Federal Government, the State Emergency Management Division, the County, the City, and the College of Charleston. There will be a post-discussion reception and book signing by Dick Cote

Sponsored by: College of Charleston Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences and the Masters of Environmental Studies Program

Make your plans for the MESSA fall camping trip at Givhans Ferry State Park. The park is an hour from Charleston. Friends, family, and pets are more than welcome. The campground has bathroom facilities and hot showers.

The plan is to stay for Friday night, but if you are interested in staying Saturday night the park has plenty of spaces available. If everyone who comes is prepared to pay $5 for the site we should be covered financially. Please, bring your own food and equipment. However, if you are short on gear, send an email and we maybe able to find some gear from the community. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Josh Young by email or at (843) 822-4397.

Directions From I-26:

Take I-26 North from Charleston and take exit 187 onto Hwy 27 towards Ridgeville and go 1 mile to Hwy 78. Take a left and go approximately ¼ of a mile and take a right on Hwy 27. Stay on Hwy 27 for 7 miles to Hwy 61. Take a right on Hwy 61 for 3 miles to Givhans Ferry Road. Turn right, and the park entrance is ¼ mile on the left.

The Career Services Office of the College of Charleston invites you to attend the Career and Graduate School Expo. This event is open to all students and all majors. Participating organizations include those recruiting upcoming December 2006 and May 2007 graduates for full-time career opportunities; organizations recruiting undergraduates for internship and/or part-time opportunities; and graduate/professional schools seeking to provide students with information about admission requirements and application procedures.

* Students should dress professionally (as they would if going for an interview: business professional preferred, business casual acceptable)

* Transportation provided. A shuttle will take students to/from the Gaillard Auditorium, leaving from the Stern Student Center every 15 minutes on the day of the event, beginning at 11:45 am.

* Interested faculty and staff are invited to attend as well.

List of participating organizations (will be updated until the Expo)

Additional information and instructions for students

Many of the companies in attendance at the Expo will be represented by College of Charleston alumni. We want to support their efforts to recruit additional student/graduates for employment and/or internship opportunities.

Join the College of Charleston Committee on Recycling and Environmental Responsibility for its meeting in Arnold Hall.

MESSA invites you to the Annual Halloween Costume Party at 252 Ashley Avenue. For directions and details, contact Carrie or Ben at (843) 452-7610.

Hope to see everyone and their friends there!

• 15 to 20 local environmentally oriented businesses and organizations with information, internships, and volunteer and employment opportunities.
• Light bulb exchange: Bring us a normal incandescent light bulb and we will exchange it with an energy and money saving compact fluorescent… FREE!
• Lug-a-mug: compete in our Recycle Toss to win SCI reusable mugs, good for free coffee at the event and discounted coffee at local shops around the community.
• Raffle: enter our raffle to win a variety of environmental products from companies supporting SCI and CofC in our efforts to become more sustainable.

Music and Food will be provided for everyone’s enjoyment. This event is open to the public, so bring your friends!

Any Questions or Comments please email us or visit our website.

The College of Charleston Sustainable Campus Initiative announces a presentation by Erika Hartwig, who will discuss what the College of Charleston can do to increase the sustainability of the school. Through increased energy efficiency, utilizing renewable energy resources, and improved campus practices, the school can become an example to the community at large. Hartwig will compare the practices of the College of Charleston to other universities in the state and lead a discussion about next steps and what the South Carolina Energy Office can do to help.

Erika Hartwig works for the South Carolina Energy Office as the Renewable Energy Coordinator. In her position Hartwig promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy like biomass and solar power. Formerly working for an environmental non-profit in Washington DC, Hartwig moved back to her hometown of Lexington in 2005 to attend the University of South Carolina as a master’s student in the School of the Environment. Hartwig is working towards a degree in Environmental Resource Management, with a concentration in alternative energy and global climate change. Hartwig attained an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences in 2003 from Clemson University, with a minor in Communication Studies.

For more information please email us or visit us at www.cofcsci.com

Bring out those oyster knives and gloves, because it’s time for the Annual Oyster Roast! Sponsored by MESSA, the Oyster Roast will be held at Dixie Plantation, where there are forested trails to explore and a small boat dock where you can look over the river and marsh.

This is a great opportunity for faculty, students, family, and friends to join together for a fun afternoon.

Local oysters are used for the roast, and the oyster shells are donated to SCORE and the SC Department of Natural Resources for oyster habitat restoration.

Attire:  The event is casual, but close-toed shoes are recommended, especially if you plan to take advantage of the various trails on the property. 

Food:  This year’s menu is local oysters and low country boil.  MESSA has a limited number of oyster knives, so if you have one, bring it!  Side dishes are welcome.

Drinks:  MESSA is providing soft drinks. Officers from the College of Charleston Department of Public Safety will not be in attendance; therefore, no alcohol will be permitted at this event.

Family and Pets:  Bring the family, leave the pets at home.

Other:  Feel free to bring your bike as the property is covered in some great trails. Frisbees, etc. are also welcome.

Directions: 

• Take Hwy. 17-S 11.8 miles from the beginning of the Ashley River Bridge to the point where Hwy 162 forks to the left (the fork is 2.9 miles from the intersection of Hwy 17 and Main Road to Kiawah and Seabrook.)
• Take Hwy 162 to the left (sign points to Hollywood and Edisto Beach).
• Proceed 2.6 miles on Hwy 162 and bear to the left on the dirt road at the sign for Stono Plantation and Dixie Kennels (Hwy 162 makes a sharp curve to the right).
• About 0.5 miles down the dirt road is the service entrance.  Go past this entrance.
• Continue down dirt road about 0.5 miles farther. (On the left, 20 yards past the turn in the road, is a double-pipe gate painted white).
• Turn left here and proceed through this gate.  Turn left at the end of this road.
• Go through the rooster gates and follow the signs to parking.