Alternative Food Systems

Evergreen’s ongoing business association with the food vendor Aramark is in direct contradiction to the values that this institution claims to have. Evergreen’s mission statement proclaims its support to local and global commitment to social justice, diversity, environmental stewardship and service in the public interest. Aramark contributes to the ongoing privatization of the prison system and immigrant detention centers in the United States.

It is our responsibility to dissect the epistemic infrastructures that fundamentally transform what this institution truly stands for. Additionally, student accessibility to food on campus is constrained by the presence of Aramark because of meal plan requirements and the lack of affordable alternatives. Evergreen cannot purport to be an academic community if students are unable to feed themselves properly. It is in this interest that we aim to explore ethically and fiscally feasible options for Evergreen’s food system.

Katy McQuillan

Facilitator, Explorer, Innovator

Participation in World Cafés

The process of the World Cafe was unnerving at times. It was really interesting to hear the projects that my classmates were working on and felt passionate about. The unnerving part was just the inevitable flow of people coming in and out as things settled and everyone found their spots, because I feel really strongly about the Alternative Food Systems/Divestment project. The constant shifting sparked the fear that the project would be dead on arrival, but as always, the lesson is to trust the process. The open forum nature of the World Cafe was really helpful in as far as it providing the opportunity for cross pollination and brain storming amongst the different groups.

Learning Compass

01_Where Have I Been?

1.  I’ve learned from experiences that have exposed me to other ways of life, other perspectives and just how many different ways there are to derive meaning from one’s existence.  Additionally, many of those same experiences have taught me just how much power the body holds.

2. I can think of two critical learning moments in particular.  The first was traveling across the country for 6 months, on my own, working on farms most of the way, and the second was beginning a massage therapy program once I returned to New York.  Both were completely out of my comfort zone, which is when the most interesting things happen.  If nothing else, that’s what I’ve learned.  Additionally, both required me to lean into my physical strength, revealing how much I actually have.  This connects to what I learned as far as being a part of a community, and the importance of showing up, being present, pulling your weight (sometimes literally).  That community is a practice and an activity, not merely a theory.
3. I suppose I have a scattered educational background, academically speaking especially.  I’ve essentially been to four different colleges, studying everything from political science to filmmaking to massage therapy to theater to religion to philosophy, all the way to economics.  The gaps in between my institutional learning have been equally if not more so educational, the amount of travel that I’ve done allowing me to connect to the world that we purported to be studying in the classroom.
4. I’ve worked in grocery stores, conferences, farms, customer service, childcare, theater, etc.

02_Where Am I Now?

1. A strength I have is taking leaps of faith into new experiences, risk taking and dreaming big and trusting that I will learn what I need to along the way.  I think a weakness is allowing other people into that process, working on a team and trusting that process.
2. I’m interested in learning more about leader roles.  It’s a position that I find myself in quite easily and often, but it also makes me immensely uncomfortable.  What does it mean to be a leader?  What does that look like in the day to day?
3. As far as learning methods, I definitely learn by doing and engaging and working with other people.
4. I’m motivated fundamentally by matters of the heart.  Ways in which I can contribute to a more just world.  That’s it.  That’s my whole game.
5. For me challenges have to do with the details of the big ideas.  What’s a plan, what does it actually take to make it happen?  I think I convince myself that I need to lean on other people in that area more than I really need to.
6. In my free time I dance, I sing, I love to read, write and think about the world.

03_Where Am I Going?

1. I’m graduating this year and I’m really not sure exactly what I want to do next.  I’ve thought of perhaps taking a Jewish Studies grad program, but regardless, I would love to delve more (and back) into religion and mythology analysis.
2. Short term goals:  graduating.  Convincing Evergreen to divest from Aramark.
3. Skills I would like to work on; identifying goals.

04_How Do I Get Where I Want To Go?

1. Fill out applications, create options for myself as far as next steps.
2. Identify mentors, people I would like to connect to and maintain working relationships with.
3. Following Through

05_How Do I Know I Have Reached My Goals?

1.  As far as Aramark’s concerned, that I will have been a part of developing something that future Greeners will be able to continue to build on.  I’m not really super concerned about anything else.

Carlos D. Otero Acevedo

Timekeeper, Harmonizer, Runner

Participation in World Cafés

Since I did not have a concrete idea to present to the class, I decided it would be better to join a group that did. Among the groups I decided to listen to were one that involved giving support to sex workers, creating an extensive mesh IT network, one that involved turning passions ito a reality, and one that involved the consumption of insects. Eventually, I decided to settle on the group I am now, which deals with alternative food systems within the college. It was one of the only two groups that’s seemed to have a somewhat develop course of action, which is why I ended up choosing it.

Learning Compass

01_Where have I been?
1. I have learned most of my academic skills from formal schooling. And I have learned my social skills through extensive observation of people I am around. Other knowledge I have acquired from the media I consume, the books I’ve read, the places I’ve traveled, the people I’ve talked to, and the extracurricular activities I’ve been a part of.
2. Some of my critical learning experiences include the time I spent tutoring some younger kids, as well as my peers, and my exposure to the 2016 election, which was what prompted my interest in news (politics especially).
3. I have graduated high school and have some college experience.
4. My work experience comes from my hours of community service and the time I spent working at my mom’s medical office.
02_Where am I now?
1. I am very detailed-oriented, always deliver, can be focused, and I believe I am empathetic. I have also been called funny. /I can become lost in the details and lose sight of the big picture, I can become easily distracted, and I have been known for spreading myself extremely thin to the point of exhaustion.
2. I have the option to participate in extended study abroad programs or try to get an internship (such as the Washington State Legislative Internship).
3. If the task involves a lot of reading, dividing it with my peers and listening to it as I also read has been effective. If the task involves a considerable amount of writing, extended periods of time without interruption (usually at night) has shown to be effective, especially if I am very, very tired. If it involves learning in a classroom environment, an inductive style of teaching with both visual and audio cues have been the most effective, lectures especially.
4. Most of my motivation comes from a sense of obligation. I am enthused by the idea of learning about how we humans interact at every level. I find endlessly fascinating, which is the reason I look forward to traveling and learning (when I feel adequately prepared) so much. In short, it’s fun to be a sponge.
5. Really, my main challenge is a lack of time. And that can only be solved by either finding more efficient ways of doing things or, more realistically, cutting other things out.
6. It depends on its length. If they are about five to fifteen minutes, as most of my free time is, I mostly watch TV shows or play video games. If they are closer to an hour, I usually take a nap. If it is a rare occurrence in which I have an extended period of free time, I might go out with friends or spend time with my family, though these activities are usually carved out of my sleep schedule, rather than my use of free time. Since my personal goals primarily involve social interactions, games and TV shows give me potential conversation topics, napping allows me to continue functioning on a threadbare sleep schedule, and my extended “free” periods of time allow me to create or deepen bonds.

03_Where am I going?
• My long-term strategic goal is to graduate college.
• My short-term goal is to find a better system to become more efficient (and hopefully be able to sleep more often), finish my sophomore year, and find a direction career-wise.
• I want to be able to understand people better in order to more effectively listen and communicate, be more focuses and learn a new language.

04_How do I get where I want to go?
I plan on trying to find plenty more people with whom to split our respective workloads. Decreasing it would create more time, which is my primary roadblock from researching for possible passions, career paths, having fun, increasing my time with loved ones, doing better work, and most importantly, sleeping.

05_How do I know I have reached my goals?
I will know I have reached my goals when I can say I sleep a healthy number of hours every night, when I can say I am totally confident in my work and my ability to learn and retain information. I will know when I discover what it is that I want to do with my life, when I discover my passion, and subsequently create a plan to achieve that dream. I will know when I can honestly say I have an extremely tight-knit group of friends, whom I know everything about and vice-versa. And I will know I have reached my goal when I can say I am both happy and satisfied with my life.

Meredith Espinosa

Reporter, Checker, Prioritizer

Participation in World Cafés

The world cafés were an interesting experience for me. I spent most of the time listening in on other people’s ideas while trying to figure out what sort of thing I would want to pitch. I helped people talk through a lot of logistics and potential roadblocks for their ideas, along with giving suggestions to more refine people’s goals and what they really want. I ultimately decided to work on the self-op food system for Evergreen, since it’s something that directly affects me and the rest of my time here at Evergreen.

Learning Compass

01_Where Have I Been?

I’ve only just come from high school, which had a lot of focus on group work and applying knowledge. I worked a lot on developing self-directed learning habits to work with my school’s independent-learning-based structure. Due to the general-ed nature of high school, I haven’t really had much time to focus on any specific area of study I enjoy, but in my off time I’ve put in a lot of focus on electronics and computer systems.

02_Where Am I Now?

Right now, I’m getting my first taste of work in a corporate environment, as well with my first experiences with more heavily lecture-based and intensive classes. I’m still working on finding things that motivate me and finding the ways that I learn best, and having a lack of much motivation is currently one of my biggest challenges. Without motivation, it’s hard for me to focus on things or think of ways to improve what I’m working on, which keeps me stuck where I am.

03_Where Am I Going?

I’m not sure where I’m headed just yet. I don’t really know what I’m interested in or what motivates me, so I can’t plot a roadmap before I find that out. I really wanna develop my abilities to focus and learn, and I need to find motivations so I can have a target to use to learn.

04_How Do I Get Where I Want To Go?

I need to explore a lot of subject areas to find one I really click in, and probably build a network of folks to help suggest things I might enjoy.

05_How Do I Know I Have Reached My Goals?

Since my goal right now is finding things I’m interested in, I’ll know I’ve reached it when I have something I want to do and am ready to set new goals focused around that interest.

Taylor Fraker

Recorder, Devil’s Advocate

Participation in World Cafés

My experience in the world café format was very helpful in narrowing down my decision on what group to join. I identified a group very quickly that I felt confident in joining but still had the opportunity to engage with other groups and become aware of what they were passionate about. This helps me identify what groups I might be able to coordinate with in the future.

Learning Compass

Where have I been?
1. I have learned from friendships, relationships, good jobs, bad jobs, drugs, family, nature, and pop culture different ways to shape my ideals and values over time.
2. The most critical learning experiences have come from working very hard in jobs that I did not particularly enjoy. It made me question the point of my life, and pushed me to follow my passions rather than play the game.
3. I have been back and forth to college several times. Two different community colleges and one university.
4. I have held a logistical management position at Amazon, and I worked as an auto mechanic for a few years. Both of these jobs taught me how to challenge myself to find out what I am capable of, while also making me aware of how that self determination can easily be exploited by others.

Where am I now?
1. I think I have strength as a facilitator and organizer in many ways. I’m not comfortable considering myself as a leader, I take more pride in elevating people’s voices above my own. My weakness is a resistance to self-planning and direction, I have too many interests and often spread myself thin to the point of disillusionment.
2. I think I have opportunities to engage with the community through Evergreen, as well as supportive faculty.
3. Peer instruction is the most useful learning tool for me.
4. I am motivated by love! I think people are brilliantly creative and their potential is limitless. I want to help people fully realize their potential, especially sowing those seeds at a young age.
5. My main challenge is finding a consistent place to live and maintaining enough work hours to sustain myself through college.
6. In my free time I like to play music, read books, watch movies/documentaries, and exercise. Playing music is an emotional release that keeps me sane, and reading books help me shape my understanding of the world.

Where am I going?
1. My long term goal is to go to grad school to become a teacher.
2. My short term goals are to develop meaningful relationships with my peers and with my faculty.
3. I want to gain more understanding of the theory of education and cognitive science.

How do I get where I want to go?
1. Engage with faculty, form relationships in the community, plan my education better, and reduce the number of financial obligations in my life.

How do I know I have reached my goals?
1. Initially, I will have reached my first level of goals when I become an educator. After that, I hope I will work towards a never ending series of goals to positively influence the lives of young people over time.

Meredith Espinosa

espmer08@evergreen.edu

Reporter, Checker, Prioritizer

Katy McQuillan

kmcquillan12@gmail.com

Facilitator, Explorer, Innovator

Carlos Otero Acevedo

otecar15@evergreen.edu

Timekeeper, Harmonizer, Runner

Taylor Fraker

fratay18@evergreen.edu

Recorder, Devil’s Advocate

The wordpress workshop outlined the site as well as live plan in a way that showed how it can be used to develop a business plan around an idea. The format allows for easy collaboration between group members. Live plan seems like an easy way to wrap our minds around a business plan even with little to no previous experience with it.