If you are graduating in Spring, 2001,
click here to sign the pledge on-line.

As of June 9:
336 Stanford seniors have signed the pledge
(over 23% of the senior class)

We are very excited to announce the initiation of a graduation pledge for this year's graduating class here at Stanford. The pledge first began at Humboldt State University in 1987 and has since spread to numerous other universities, including Manchester, Princeton, and Cornell.

We believe that raising the level of consciousness regarding social responsibility will empower students to make decisions that will better the world. The pledge gives Stanford graduates a unified voice with which to commit to a higher standard of ethics in the working world.

We will be contacting all graduating students about the pledge during spring quarter, asking for their participation. During the graduation ceremony, graduates will be given the option of wearing a green ribbon as a symbol of their commitment. Those who sign the pledge will also receive a wallet-sized pledge certificate.

Endorsed by : Alternative Spring Break (ASB) • Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) • Catholic Community at Stanford • Circle K • Earth Systems Program • Green Party at Stanford • InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Stanford • Islamic Society of Stanford University • Kennedy Kosher Coöp • LGBCC (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Community Center) • Lutheran Campus Ministry at Stanford University • Muslim Students Awareness Network • Night Outreach • Radical Cheerleaders • Redwood Action Team at Stanford (RATS) • SEAS • Senior Class Presidents • Stanford Democrats • Stanford Labor Action Coalition (SLAC) • Stanford Project on Nutrition (SPOON) • Stanford Students for Life • Stanford University Mathematical Organization • Stanford Vegan Action • StepUp • Student Forum on Latin America (SFLA) • Students for Choice (SFC) • Students for Environmental Education (SEED) • Tobacco Action Resources (TAR) • Women's Community Center

Read the letter sent out to graduating seniors

Members of the press click here for press releases

If you decide to take the Pledge now, or might in the future, the following tips will be helpful as you conduct job searches over your lifetime.

Identify your valkues to learn what kind of work is important to you

Before you can determine what kind of work is important to you, it is useful to review your work and personal values, because they may change over time. These values will point you toward the social and environmental issues you want to embrace.  Examples of values are:  helping those in distress, being creative, opportunity to teach others, freedom to create own lifestyle, convincing others to do something, having supportive co-workers.

Determine what social responsibility means to you

According to the pledge, social responsibility is self-determined. Check out the Graduation Pledge web site. There you will find information explaining social and environmental responsibility, including examples such as: believing in workplace accessibility for everyone, contributing to local charity and social change efforts, believing in the value of all cultures, using a production process that doesn't pollute the environment, respecting worker privacy, producing user friendly products that are reliable, and not testing products on animals.

Research socially responsible career fields and employers

Research using a variety of resources that you can get from the organization, from independent sources, from advocacy organizations and from talking with people. These resources might include: annual reports, marketing materials, internal newsletters, orientation materials given to those recently hired, publications on specific areas of controversy, published social and environmental audits, career counselors, placement agencies, newspapers, magazines, journals, books, official documents filed with government agencies, on line databases. You can search for currently available jobs and internships at the Graduation Pledge web site. Also, SICD has done an investigation of 25 companies that commonly recruit on college campuses. You can see what we found out under the profiles section. Some of best on-line resources to investigate a company's social responsibility that we came across are listed in our resources section. This will give you an idea of what kind of information to look for and where to find it.

Learn what questions to ask in an interview

• Is there an employee assistance program or similar source of support?
• Is there support for child care and other kinds of dependent care?
• Are there opportunities for community service with co-workers?
• What's the organization's record on occupational health and safety?  Waste handling?
• How are products packaged? What efforts have been made to minimize solid waste?
• What programs does the organization have to contribute to the surrounding community?
• More questions to think about can be found here

Set goals for making a difference both in and out of the workplace

Be a co-creator of the workplace you want to see. After you are employed and as you change jobs throughout your lifetime, continue to think about making positive changes in your workplace. Job satisfaction is more than just a paycheck. Some ideas for workplace improvements include: recycling programs, mentoring programs, workplace flexibility, wellness programs, diversity programs, supporting green suppliers of office products, and promoting joy and celebration. If your workplace doesn't have these things, create them!

*Much of the above information was adapted from Making a Living While Making a Difference by Melissa Everett, Office of Career Services, Manchester College