Mission & Values
Mission:
The outdoor program educates students in outdoor leadership and skills, instills an environmental ethic, and empowers students through outdoor and wilderness exploration and experiences. We are committed to increasing awareness of and accessibility to the outdoor opportunities offered by the Outdoor Program.
Your experiences inside and outside the classroom will help you become a more inclusive navigator of the natural world and a better steward of the environment. As you grapple with some of today’s biggest ethical questions regarding climate change, natural resources, and preservation and how these relate to dynamics of power and injustice, you’ll learn how you can make a positive impact while empowering others to do the same—starting right in your North Country backyard.
Core Values:
Inclusivity: We believe everyone is capable of recreating in the outdoors regardless of ability, experience, race, economic background, sex, gender, faith or personality. We believe that it’s up to the OP as a community to foster a sense of belonging and believe in the power of creating connections and community through outdoor experience.
Judgment Free Zone (JFZ): We embrace the differences in ability and experience that people of different backgrounds bring. While we provide support for you to move beyond your comfort zone, we don’t pressure people to summit mountains or ski slopes, we listen to what you are passionate about and adjust the plan accordingly.
Ethic of Caring: We practice an ethic of caring for yourself and the environment-- We’ll teach you the essential skills not just to gain access to outdoor activities but to do them in a way that minimizes physical risk and maximizes fulfillment. Further, we’ll teach you how to do all of this while minimizing your impact in order to protect the natural environments we rely on to recreate and learn from.
Diversity Statement:
The Outdoor Studies Department, including the Adirondack Semester and the Outdoor Program, is committed to fostering an environment where all individuals, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, ability, or socio-economic status, feel welcomed, celebrated, and respected. We believe that our community is stronger when we bring together students, faculty, and staff from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. We strive to use empathy and humility to foster dialogue and connection across campus and to celebrate and understand differences. We are committed to integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion training into our courses and we recognize the need to challenge habits, assumptions, and systems of power and injustice that exist. As we prepare students to become leaders in the outdoors and otherwise, we believe in the importance of creating a sustainable and equitable community of outdoor enthusiasts.
Land Acknowledgement:
The SLU Outdoor Program acknowledges the Haudenosaunee people as the ancestral stewards of the land SLU sits on and where most of our trips take place. We recognize that we are lucky to be spending time in this beautiful area which operates on lands traditionally used by, and stolen from, indigenous people. Where we are today is the traditional territory of the ancestral lands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy meaning People of the longhouse. Most specifically the ancestral lands of the Mohawk or Kanyen’keha:ka people. The confederacy is made up of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Each of the nations are united by a common goal to live in harmony. We pay respects to all of their elders, past and present, who helped take care of this land. We make this acknowledgement to reflect on the many legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that come with colonization. The SLU Outdoor Program welcomes feedback from any Haudenosaunee and other Indigenous identifying guides, participants, or community members.