The Sustainable Technology Repair Initiative, STRI, aims to provide the UCSB community with an affordable, accessible, and environmentally sustainable technological repair resource in order to reduce digital inequality and e-waste. Our mission focuses on three key pillars: equity, the environment, and empowerment through education. The STRI team is made up of UCSB students. We know how necessary technology is in our everyday coursework and research. And we know what it feels like when these devices don’t work. While some can immediately replace their devices, others must cope with a poorly functioning device for weeks, months or years at a time. STRI’s mission is to work towards reducing this digital divide. Reusing is a fundamental (and relatively neglected) aspect of the reuse, reduce, and recycle paragraphs. With 70 million computers already in our landfills, the irreversible damage that e-waste has left on our environment is clear. By facilitating tech repair, STRI aims to reduce e-waste on campus and contribute to UCSB’s broader sustainability efforts. This technology repair resource has never been more important. The student body at UCSB is going through an unprecedented time as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid transition to remote learning in response to the pandemic means that virtually the entire University experience is happening online (e.g., online classes, virtual workshops, group collaboration through different chat spaces). Over half of the students in a 2020 campus-wide survey had a daily device usage of over an hour on coursework alone, and for 19% the average usage was over 5 hours. Students' dependence on their devices is evident. Even a single day without access could lead to disruptions in their education. The University of California has committed to ensuring that all students have their basic needs met. STRI operates under the assumption that sustained access to quality technology is an unmet basic need on campus.
