STUDENTS FOR INFORMED CAREER DECISIONS
Stanford University Graduation Pledge

Press Release STANFORD, California - June 10, 2001

With graduation only a week away, many seniors at Stanford University are preparing themselves for the opportunities ahead of them. For many, the past few months have been spent searching for the ideal job, perhaps one with a high salary and great benefits. But for over 300 graduates of the Class of 2001, environmental and social impacts of potential jobs have weighed more heavily than the bottom line. They have each personally committed themselves to this by supporting a nation-wide graduation pledge effort, organized at Stanford for the first time in twenty years by student group Students for Informed Career Decisions (SICD).

In the beginning of May, SICD mailed letters to all of the graduating seniors of the Class of 2001, asking them to make a commitment to consider environmental and social issues as they enter the workforce. The response was tremendous: Within a month, a total of 337 graduating Stanford students signed the pledge, amounting to over 23% of the graduating class.

History of the Graduation Pledge
The graduation pledge first began at Humboldt State University in 1987 and has since spread to a number of universities across the nation, including Harvard, MIT and Cornell Universities. The pledge states: "I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work." The pledge is purposefully broad, in order to allow students to determine for themselves what they consider to be socially and environmentally responsible.

At Stanford and across the country, those who sign the pledge receive a wallet-sized pledge certificate and a green ribbon, which they have the option of wearing at commencement as a symbol of their commitment to social responsibility in employment decisions.

Support for the Pledge from Stanford Faculty and Students
The graduation pledge has received full support from many faculty members and administrators at Stanford, including President Emeritus of Stanford Donald Kennedy. According to Kennedy, "I liked the pledge when I first heard about it during the time I was President - and I still like it. What I find particularly attractive is that rather than an easily forgotten promise, it is a commitment to serious thought about an important aspect of one's future."

As indicated by the high number of students who signed the pledge, support has also been strong among Stanford students. "I would hope that we will all make the decision in some point in our lives to consider choosing to work for a company that is socially and environmentally aware and responsible. By signing the pledge, we are making a public statement about our decision," commented supporter and senior Amanda Lam.

The graduation pledge has been endorsed by 29 diverse groups on campus from all major areas of student life, including the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU), the Stanford Labor Action Coalition (SLAC), the Catholic Community at Stanford, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Resource Center (LGBTCRC), and The Earth Systems Program. For a full list of endorsing groups, please visit the SICD web site.

Students for Informed Career Decisions (SICD)
SICD has also created an online resource for students at their website (www.stanford.edu/group/SICD/), profiling twenty-five well-known companies from Chevron to Sun Microsystems. These profiles allow students to examine the social responsibility of companies they may choose to work for in the future and provide some general resources on how to research companies. SICD believes that its supporters will be making a difference in the world by committing themselves to a higher standard of work ethics.

For more information on the graduation pledge or SICD, please visit gradpledge.stanford.edu If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ned Tozun at nedt@stanford.edu.

###