E.P.I.C, Aquinas College's Environmental Political Interactive Change club, will host a town meeting at 2 p.m. on April 18, 2009 as a part of a nationwide campaign called Focus the Nation. The meeting will be held in the Jarecki-Lacks Center on the Aquinas campus, adjacent to the Woodward parking lot at 157 Woodward Lane SE. The event is free and open to the public. >>Download AQ Campus Map (pdf)

The Focus the Nation campaign concentrates on clean and just energy alternatives as well as other environmental concerns related to clean energy. Currently, the main effort is to encourage Congress to pass bold national policies that will help solve the climate crisis, create jobs, and make the United States transition to a clean energy economy.

The town hall meeting will consist of 3-5 panelists with specialties in business, academics/science and organizations/nonprofits and political leaders speaking on topics that E.P.I.C believes to be particularly relevant to citizens of Grand Rapids. Topics of discussion will be water issues, including Governor Granholm's proposed cut for protecting Michigan's wetlands, coal fired power plants and alternative energy and the proposed Silver Line bus that will run through Grand Rapids parallel to US-131. The panel will speak on each topic and will answer questions from the public.

Tentative panelists include Aquinas professors, business owners from the Grand Rapids community and local politicians. Mayor George K. Heartwell, Grand Rapids city commissioners and Congressman Vern Ehlers will also be in attendance.

This event is a collaborative effort between Aquinas College, Grand Valley State University and the Grand Rapids community.

For further information or questions, contact Jessica Spagnuolo at jks003@aquinas.edu.