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Class gets sustainable by handing out survey, coffee mugs
The Student Organization for People and the Environment is trying to reduce the number of paper coffee cups used in the four coffee shops on campus by handing out reusable coffee mugs.
According to Sodexho, which runs Campus Dining Services, the University of Idaho disposes of 184,000 paper cups every year.
SOPE received a grant from the University of Idaho’s Sustainability Center last spring. The organization requested funds to purchase 200 mugs and received funds to purchase 500. Students will receive mugs outside coffee shops when SOPE members are present, and after they complete a survey.
The survey was drafted by social research methods in conservation, CSS 310, a four-credit class that looks at “approaches to studying social aspects of conservation and the environment,” according to the course syllabus.
Class instructor and SOPE adviser Nick Sanyal said UISC is the client for the survey. In return for the grant, SOPE will gather information through the surveys to be analyzed and made into a report for UISC, which will look at student behaviors and the types of conservation incentives they might need.
“The project is student generated,” Sanyal said. “We did one big CNR class and two freshmen core classes. We can go back to the class and get end of the semester data.”
SOPE’s coffee mugs are not to be mistaken for the UISC mugs being sold inside the four coffee shops on campus. Students in CSS 310 will hand out mugs and conduct surveys at random times during weekdays, based on their schedules.
“It’s whoever has time in the 310 class,” said Marci Miller, a student in the class. “We’re finding mornings are the best.”
The 16-ounce mugs have writing imprinted on them that list five conservation suggestions for students and, when used in UI shops, come with a 25-cent discount.
“We actually have actions that you can take on the mug, instead of just the mug,” Miller said.
There are less than 100 mugs left, she said. The survey takes 5-10 minutes to complete, and will be looking at student demographics. Another part of the survey will ask students to suggest incentives for conservation that Sodexho will consider, Miller said.
The analysis of the surveys will be completed by the end of the semester and the data will be incorporated into the final exam for CSS 310, Sanyal said. Before students could conduct surveys, they had to get a human subjects certificate.
“You learn about confidentiality and the ethics of surveying,” Miller said.
Sanyal said SOPE is considering another project in the future that will encourage purchasing less bottled water by dispensing Nalgene bottles.
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