Funded By
Made possible by a grant from the:
Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund (SCIF)
Utah’s green grant program. Students, faculty, and staff from all disciplines are invited to propose projects that enhance the sustainability of our campus and community. SCIF encourages ideas that operate at the crossroads of academics and operations and work to facilitate collaborative efforts among diverse members of the campus community.
About SCIF
SCIF was proposed by ASUU in 2008 in response to demand for sustainable infrastructure on campus and opportunities to gain real-world project management experience. Each semester, students pay $2.50 into the fund. The SCIF bylaws explain the priorities of the program, as well as general project guidelines. SCIF projects are approved by a committee of students, faculty, and staff.
Sustainability
Project Art Heals Utah Sustainability Commitment:
I
Waste Diversion and Reduction
We rescued thousands of vaccine vials, vaccine vial caps, and miscellaneous medical waste from landfills.
II
Health and Wellness Sustainability
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a state of chronic stress for human beings worldwide. In 1946, the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) preamble stated that “health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being rather than merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. There is data to support that there is a positive connection between art, healing, and public health (Am J Public Health. 2010 February; 100(2): 254–263. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629). In creating art out of would-be discarded COVID vials, we offer our community a means to foster well-being and to pay tribute to this shared experience that is the COVID-19 pandemic.
III
Sustainability Literacy and Creating Awareness
In 1987, the United Nations (U.N.) defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. (https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability). This COVID-19 sculpture project provides opportunity to demonstrate to our broader community the value of sustainability.
IV
Justice/Equity
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed both acute and chronic health care inequities and disparities. The pandemic has affected low-income communities and people of color at much higher rates. And there is certainly privilege that comes with remaining relatively unaffected by the pandemic (i.e. more space often accompanies higher income areas, and that space allows for easier social distancing; access to vaccinations is informed by transportation, by being able to take a day or two off of work, etc.; accessing appropriate health care can also be a matter of privilege). There are many intersections of injustice where the COVID-19 pandemic has found nesting grounds. This art piece is a way to acknowledge appreciation for the privilege of vaccination and the privilege of survival, as well as noting that there is much ground to cover to create equity within a system in which many still experience disparities.
