THE SUSTAINABILITY ISSUE 

The elimination of Columbia’s environmental and sustainability studies program is prompting new questions about how students engage with climate issues on campus.

The program was cut in 2024 due to low enrollment and is now in a teach-out phase. While many of its courses are still offered, the loss of a formal major has shifted how students access and study environmental topics.

Faculty said that change does not necessarily mean less exposure to climate education, but it may make engagement more dependent on individual interest.

“I was disappointed. I also wasn’t surprised,” said Elizabeth Davis-Berg, a professor of biology who helped develop the program. “At the point it was cut, there were under 20 students in the program across two and a half years.”

Davis-Berg, who is the interim co-director of the School of Design, said that she is now focusing on ensuring that students who are taking environmental and sustainability courses are getting what they need out of the classroom, even as climate-related learning continues across disciplines rather than within a single major.

According to Davis-Berg, all of the courses in the environmental and sustainability studies program, except for “Environmental and Sustainability Studies Capstone” and “Methods for Environmental and Sustainability Studies,” are open to students across Columbia.

“As far as the classes and how Columbia students can learn about climate change and environmental issues, I don’t think any of that has changed,” she said.

Junior programming major Tyrone King said Columbia has done more than his previous schools to raise awareness about climate change, noting his high school did not have recycling options.

When people hear about climate change, “you just get a reaction out of it like, ‘Oh global warming’s not real,’ which I don’t know who’s saying that in 2026 — that’s kind of crazy,” he said. 

King said student engagement around topics like environmental and sustainability issues is important because “students are the future.”

The influence of climate change has an “extreme” effect on Izzy Lober, a junior fine arts major, who tries to keep it in mind with everything she purchases. 

“I try to create the least amount of waste as I possibly can, though it still feels hopeless sometimes,” she said. 

With extreme fluctuations in temperature this spring, she said the issue is pressing. According to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center, “above-normal” temperatures are expected to sweep across the majority of the U.S. from April through July this year. These fluctuations are expected to highly impact areas including the West and the South.

Lober said Columbia provides accessible options such as recycling and composting, but added that more awareness is needed.

“It’s really hard to actually face because we’re not in control. I mean, we are to a certain extent, but nature is so much bigger than us that we’re so out of control of what’s actually happening,” she said. “Awareness is essential in being fully knowledgeable and fully informed adults.”

While teaching at Columbia, Davis-Berg noticed that student engagement has gone up and down throughout the years, depending on what students are showing interest in and care about. She said that most students are aware of the effects, but may not know the science behind it.

 “I think knowledge varies,” Davis-Berg said. “I think a lot of people understand that we’ll get more storms, we’ll get more extreme weather, but from teaching climate change, I think fewer students are already aware of how the models are created.” 

As climate engagement moves beyond the classroom, student leaders say they are filling the gap through campus initiatives.

Since her first year at Columbia, Student Government Association President Jenna Davis has worked on a project to improve campus waste diversion. She helped create signage for recycling, compost and landfill bins across campus. 

After a year, she said, the diversion rate increased.

SGA also hosts an annual Earth Week cleanup and a move-out donation drive, which collects clothing and household items to reduce waste at the end of the academic year.

“There is so much thrown away at the end of the year,” said Davis, a senior fine arts major. “I can’t even explain how much stuff we gathered.” 

SGA donates clothes from the drive to The Rack, Columbia’s thrift store, and household items to Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that focuses on affordable housing.

“The state of our earth is very real, and the least we can do is recycle at the end of the day,” Davis said. “The least we can do are just small things of being more sustainable in our choices.” 

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