UW-Whitewater has an abundance of organizations that students can help make differences on campus and in the community. A couple prominent groups on campus include PEACE and SAGE, which any student can join. They are organizations that devote themselves to making the world a better place in many ways. They both work on societal issues and making the community better. 

PEACE

“PEACE is a nonpartisan organization committed to addressing social issues and social problems. The acronym stands for Peace, Education, Activism through, Creative Engagement. Sometimes we say community engagement, but it’s actually creative engagement as the official name. ” explains PEACE advisor James Hartwick.

“So what this, what is ultimately designed to do is to raise issues of social concern and hopefully address those issues. In various ways, and we, we identify social issues by looking at the world around us, and we have students bring us issues. And we bring them forward, currently what we’re doing is and probably the way you heard about us is we’re showing video videos or documentary videos of various issues of social concern.” said Hartwick.

The group is focused on helping specific organizations or the environment. It organizes trash cleanups on campus, fundraisers for organizations and fun events like cookouts too. It is well-known for its bi-monthly documentary series and fundraiser for Native American college students. 

“We tend to focus on social justice and political issues – both large and small. We aim to be very member focused, and the activities and issues we tackle are based largely on what the members at any given time care about,” said president Benajamin Bernasek.

PEACE has meetings Thursdays from 6 – 7 p.m. in Hyland Hall and is accepting new members. For more information contact Hartwick [email protected] directly or through the organizational email [email protected]. 

SAGE

Another group with a strong mission and acronym is SAGE. Students Allied for a Greener Earth is making a difference not only for the campus environment, but for the community as well. Many may not know that the group’s goals extend beyond environmental issues.

The group recently held a latest meeting outside at Starin Park. Members brought hammocks and kicked back having a socially distanced meeting.

“We’re finding creative solutions to the problems faced by the pandemic. Meeting outside is one way to do that,” said president Maria Zenteno.

The purpose of the organization is to promote and educate the campus on four main principles:  ecological sustainability and awareness, participatory democracy, cultural diversity and social justice.

The club tackles issues in various ways such as protesting on campus and around town. Some issues SAGE looks to find a solution to include; climate change, water pollution, plastic, and landfills. 

SAGE meets Wednesdays from 6 – 7 p.m., is accepting members and does not have prerequisites. More information can be found on the organization website and Facebook page.