As a club that focuses on tackling problems that plague today’s society, Global Issues Network (GIN) chose environmentalism as this year’s theme and has been partaking in projects to promote a greener society. In order to expand upon the already existing agendas GIN has annually, such as the Haunted House fundraiser and the 30-hour famine, GIN members have established new plans to specifically combat pollution and environmental issues during the second semester. Such agendas include the community service trip to Thailand and other tentative plans such as the Green Initiative (GI) Program as well as the implementation of a “hydroponics” garden.
20 GIN members will also be traveling to Thailand from Feb. 15-21. Unlike other international trips GIN members have gone on in the past, which were conferences for discussion and collaboration, the trip to Thailand will focus more on community service and cultural experiences. Activities on the trip include jungle cooking, washing elephants, and visiting research centers.
“In addition to helping the community and people who live there, I think this will be a unique experience socially and culturally,” said Togo Tamura (12), GIN president. “We are expecting to see how Thailand is combating its own environmental issues to see if there are any initiatives, programs or ideas that we can bring in and implement into our own community. We honestly could not do much during first semester specifically for environmentalism because we were so focused on the Haunted House, so hopefully we can do more this semester.”
As a means of targeting environmental issues, GIN members decided to implement the GI Program intensively in the second semester. Although this plan is largely tentative, it attempts to make SIS green by potentially collaborating with Green Club and the HSSC to make recycling campaigns.
“Various clubs at SIS have tried to tackle environmentalism, but none of them have really made a huge impact,” said Jeffrey Park (10), GIN member. “I’m hoping that the GI Program will prove itself different and establish GIN as a unique club in the SIS community. As is the case with most club activities, I wish the student body would realize that such projects are for the benefit of the entirety of the school community and actively join our cause, even through small acts such as recycling.
On Feb. 2, the junior GIN executive members took a trip to Korea International School (KIS) in order to receive some of the ideas from their activities. KIS set up a “hydroponics” garden, which is a greenhouse as large as a classroom with plants in hopes of being more eco-friendly and raising awareness to the student body about environmental issues. The executive members see the establishment of such a garden as a possibility for SIS as well.