From the Nominator

For a story on sustainability activities at Occidental College for the Summer 2024 issue of Occidental Magazine—a digital-only magazine, an appropriate medium given the subject—I wanted the cover to show that students are in many cases taking the lead in advancing the college’s sustainability efforts. Among myriad details, illustrator Kathleen Fu’s playful cover touches on five recent milestones in sustainability. First, the harvest of 500 pounds of olives from 20 trees on campus to raise awareness of sustainable campus landscaping and maintenance. Around 170 bottles of Oxy's own olive oil were created from the harvest. Second, Green Move Out Day 2024, which diverted 9,000 pounds of dorm goods from landfill. Many of those items found their way to the Oxy Ecossentials Thrift Store. Third, on January 21, 2024, President Harry J. Elam Jr. signed the Second Nature Climate Commitment to combat climate change and support sustainability at Oxy. Fourth, in December 2023, Professor of Biology Gretchen North’s Plant Form and Function class broke ground to plant a “microforest” on Oxy’s campus. A microforest mirrors the exceptional climate resilience of thickets of indigenous trees in Japan by densely packing small squares of land with native plants, which in turn conserves water, sequesters carbon, lowers temperatures, and reestablishes plant, fungi, and animal biodiversity. Fifth, in August 2023, campus dining made the shift to an all-reusable takeout program. In its first year, the Eco-Clamshell Program saved nearly 60,000 single-use to-go boxes from landfill. The result? A distinctively Oxy take on sustainability, with recognizable campus landmarks (and a chicken!).

From the Judges

Love how the image fills the cover and makes you want to search and find and read. Playful movement with the various illustrations. The art speaks for itself and invites a longer look. Well composed; we like the butterflies interacting with the Occidental masthead.