From an activist to a student government official, Kaitlin Haley has taken her passion for the environment to another level.

Haley, a senior cultural anthropology major, is the commissioner of environmental affairs.

After transferring from MiraCosta Community College, she never thought she would have a student government position, she said. Haley learned about the position from some of her teachers and thought it’d be a great way to make an environmental impact.

“I’ve always been an environmental activist and one for creating and pushing change,” Haley said. “I thought ‘what a cool way to be able to take environmental activism to the next level.’”

This semester, Haley serves as the student representative for the Campus Sustainability Coalition and is the vice chair of the Sustainable Fund Allocation Committee.

Her biggest role this semester is serving as the chair of the Environmental Affairs Council.

“We research different environmental issues on campus and write sustainable policies,” Haley said.

Passing a real food policy on campus is one of her goals for the semester, she said. The policy would make sure the food served by Associated Students is local and organic.

“If I could get that food policy to be implemented that would definitely be the biggest accomplishment I could possibly have,” Haley said. “It would be such a legacy to leave on this campus.”

Another key item on Haley’s agenda this semester is a divestment campaign.

The campaign would get the university and Associated Students to divest, or take money out of, fossil fuel companies and invest it into clean energy and socially responsible companies.

“It’s in the baby phase right now,” she said. “There’s a lot of support from, not just the students, but the faculty as well.”

However, the toughest part about her position is balancing being an activist and a student representative.

“I can’t always be the screaming hippy,” she said. “I’ve never been in the spotlight like this before.”

For students who want to live a greener lifestyle, Haley advises to ride a bike to campus and around Chico.

“We live in such a beautiful town and that’s one huge way to reduce carbon emissions,” Haley said.

The environmental affairs council meetings are open to all students. Meetings take place every other Tuesday in the Bell Memorial Union room 205 from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. For more information visit aschico.com

Sharon Martin can be reached at [email protected] or @SharonBMartin on Twitter.