Academic - Ag & Life Sciences Academic - Business Academic - Design Academic - Human Sciences Academic - Engineering Academic - Intercollegiate Academic - LAS Academic - Vet-Med Graduate and Professional

Description

The Sustainable Agriculture Student Association (SASA) is the official student-led organization for the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture (GPSA) at Iowa State University. While most members are graduate students in the GPSA program, we welcome any students (graduate or undergraduate) who share a passion for learning how to improve the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the U.S. food and agriculture system.

Affiliations

Constitution / Tier

File 2015.pdf
Tier Student Organization - Registered

Membership Information

Student Members 14
ISU Members 3
Non-ISU Members 0
Allowed Members Membership is open to all registered students at Iowa State University. Active members include those students that attend at least one meeting and at least one SASA-sponsored event per semester, including but not limited to meal or garden shifts at Food at First. Associate members are those that do not fulfill the above requirements. Associate members are non-voting, may not hold an office, and are not guaranteed to receive funding for conferences.
Allowed Officers Officers include Co-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, GPSS Representative, Outreach and Social Coordinator, Food at First Coordinator(s), and committee representative(s) for Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture, including the Admissions, Coordinating, Curriculum, and/or International committees. Officers include 2 Co-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, GPSS Representative, Outreach Officer, and 2-3 Food at First Coordinators
Membership Qualifications Membership is open to all registered students at Iowa State University. SASA does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or status as a U.S. veteran.
Membership Restrictions Membership is only open to Iowa State students. Associate members cannot vote or hold office.
Elections/Selection Elections are held at the end of the fall semester every year.
Meetings Monthly during the fall and spring semesters (at least three meetings per semester). Meeting dates are set to accommodate as many members as possible (usually determined via a poll) and announced via email to the SASA listserv.

Description of Regular Meetings/Activities

Meetings are held monthly during fall and spring semesters. Club activities include managing a sustainable garden, volunteering monthly to cook a meal at Food at First, participating in the annual Ames Rummage Rampage event, traveling to conferences as a group, sponsoring workshops and movie screenings on sustainable agriculture topics, holding monthly social events, and engaging in university and community outreach such as ISU Sustainapalooza.

Description of Special Events

Special events vary from year to year. Past special events have included an educational trip to the Minnesota State Fair, attending the MOSES (now Marbleseed) organic conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin, volunteering and participating at the Practical Farmers of Iowa conference, participating in the annual GPSA Symposium, and working with other organizations to bring renowned speakers to campus such as Tom Philpott, Tim Wise, Diane Wilson, and Raj Patel.
Fall Welcome Picnic - often hosted in coordination with Helen Gunderson and PFI
Garden - Spring Kickoff and Fall Harvest workdays. In additional to regular weekly garden workdays, a spring garden prep and planting workday and fall harvest and cleanup workday are usually organized each May and October.