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| Creating a sustainable campus |
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| Written by Jessica Mullins -Argonaut | ||||||
| Tuesday, 18 April 2006 | ||||||
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Starting next semester, $5 per student out of student fees will fund a
sustainability center, if the State Board of Education approves UI fee
increases Thursday. The student-driven sustainability initiative will provide the opportunity for students to turn the campus into what they want to see, said senior Justin Saydell, ASUI director of sustainability and environmental club vice president. “They will gain practical experience from working on other projects that will go hand in hand with their education,” Saydell said. Planning for the center is almost complete. The proposal writers are working to sell the project to administrators and knowledgeable staff, Saydell said, but the current focus is on informing students about the center. “Right now we are working on letting students know where the money is going and that they have a chance to get it back,” Saydell said. A physical sustainability center is a long-term goal. The initiative requests physical space on the campus that can act as a resource for students and faculty. Organizers have an idea of available space where the center could be located, but the locations can not be disclosed until they are finalized. Students will receive funding to create sustainability projects on campus through the center. Students from all different fields can work together to create projects and programs. One example of a sustainable program is a bike rental program. It would be cost-effective to students and provide environmentally friendly modes of transportation, Saydell said. Saydell hopes to see several proposals. “I would like to see students use their creativity and be proactive to make this campus and community a better place,” he said. The sustainability initiative will be in place next semester. After receiving approval from the SBOE, Saydell and others will continue to promote the center around campus. Three to six students will become coordinators at the center and two-thirds of the funding will go to projects. There will be a strong effort to find out what student interests are and address them, said graduate student Claudia Hemphill Pine, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Association. Hemphill Pine wrote the center initiative with Saydell. She has promoted and taught sustainability on the campus for three years. “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t get excited when they talk about sustainability,” Hemphill Pine said. Sustainability: Something for everyone Half of what people say they want out of life relates to sustainability and they don’t know it, Hemphill Pine said. For example, students may desire to have a comfortable house in a safe neighborhood with clean air and a reliable job. “We talk about stuff we are not going to have if we don’t live in a sustainable world,” she said. There is no clear definition for sustainability, but there is a lot it includes. A short definition for sustainability could be the golden rule, she said. “It is about leaving enough for the next person or cleaning for our grandchildren,” she said. Sustainability has to include everyone, Hemphill Pine said. “We are all in this together,” she said. “Everyone has to participate for it to work.” People practice sustainability for different reasons, Hemphill Pine said. Some people may do it for religious reasons and to protect God’s creations. Others may find sustainability exciting and challenging, some may think of their children and others may do it for plants and animals they have never seen, she said. “Sustainability is anything that ensures a future,” graduate student Jim Logan said. “It is not just environmental issues, but includes political and business issues.” Logan worked with Hemphill Pine and Saydell to create the sustainability initiative. Sustainability includes the social, economic and cultural aspects of society, Saydell said, along with the environmental aspects of the community. “Sustainability creates an atmosphere that is more pleasant and connects you to what is going on in the world,” Saydell said. While other universities across the nation are ahead on sustainability, UI has the chance to be a leader in the intermountain region, Saydell said. Washington State University, Idaho State University and Boise State University don’t have student fees designated to sustainability. “We are global citizens and need that ‘think global, act local’ mentality,” Saydell said. Students take action The initiative is the result of a series of efforts to create a more sustainable campus. Sustainability efforts took off last spring semester when President Tim White signed the Talloires Declaration, confirming UI’s commitment to sustainability. The declaration provided a 10-step outline to add sustainability into curriculum, outreach and research. Tallories had the right ideas and motives, but it was just a document, Saydell said. “There was no mechanism for forcing people to do anything,” Saydell said. In the fall 2005 semester, a group of about five students, including Saydell, Logan and Hemphill Pine, joined forces to create the sustainability initiative. The group researched other universities such as Harvard University, Tufts University, and University of Colorado at Boulder. They studied the student fee sustainability programs and figured out what worked and what didn’t work, Hemphill Pine said. “We were inspired by learning about what was done at other places,” she said. “There is nothing these other places are doing that UI can’t do.” UI, a land grant university, has more options than an urban campus because of agricultural resources. “We realized we can do things here people can’t in other places,” she said. The initiative has received support from the three student governments — ASUI, GPSA and the Student Bar Association — along with other student leaders, including those involved in residence halls, various colleges and clubs. The university is at a critical point right now, said Saydell, who isn’t worried that the fee request may get denied. “Traditionally they have agreed with the whole package or cut things across the board,” Saydell said. “We will be getting something.”  Add as favorites (200) | Views: 2322
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