Spring Break
Student Senate to vote on green fund
Nik Nelson and Elena Bantle
Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: News
Students may soon determine whether to throw campus onto the "green" bandwagon.
The Student Senate will vote on Wednesday, March 12 on a resolution that calls for a student referendum on the question of whether UW-L should add a segregated fee to student bills in order to put money in an Environmental Sustainability Reserve. This comes on the heels of Chancellor Joe Gow's promise to sign the Talloires Declaration on Earth Day, April 22. The declaration, signed by over 350 university presidents and chancellors worldwide, lays out ten steps to make a university more environmentally sustainable in every aspect.
The additional five dollar fee would go toward implementing clean alternative energy sources in and around buildings on campus. These include, per the recommendations of the resolution, solar water heaters for residence halls, motion sensor lights, rain gardens and wind power on campus.
According to one of the authors of the resolution, this fee could end up saving students money in the long run. In the UW-System budget, students pay utilities for student funded buildings. Student funded buildings include the residence halls, Whitney center, the REC, and Cartwright Center. Last year, students paid $1,183,444 for utilities of student-funded buildings. The UW-L admissions website indicates total enrollment is 8,295 undergraduate students on campus this year. By dividing the cost of utilities for these buildings by the number of students you get the average amount that a student is paying for utilities each year. This means that the average student is paying over $140 a year for utilities.
Investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency could decrease dependence on increasingly costly fuels. It's a preventative step students can take to ensure that these rising costs stay under control.
Similar programs have been instituted at UW-Green Bay and UW-Stevens Point, where they have installed solar water heaters. A $260,000 heater facilitated a 400-bed dormitory. As a ratio, then, $160,000 would be enough to heat water in the 250-bed residence halls slated for construction next year at UW-L. With an estimated enrollment of 8,417 students, a five dollar fee per semester for four semesters would be enough to pay for one of these heaters.
The Student Senate will vote on Wednesday, March 12 on a resolution that calls for a student referendum on the question of whether UW-L should add a segregated fee to student bills in order to put money in an Environmental Sustainability Reserve. This comes on the heels of Chancellor Joe Gow's promise to sign the Talloires Declaration on Earth Day, April 22. The declaration, signed by over 350 university presidents and chancellors worldwide, lays out ten steps to make a university more environmentally sustainable in every aspect.
The additional five dollar fee would go toward implementing clean alternative energy sources in and around buildings on campus. These include, per the recommendations of the resolution, solar water heaters for residence halls, motion sensor lights, rain gardens and wind power on campus.
According to one of the authors of the resolution, this fee could end up saving students money in the long run. In the UW-System budget, students pay utilities for student funded buildings. Student funded buildings include the residence halls, Whitney center, the REC, and Cartwright Center. Last year, students paid $1,183,444 for utilities of student-funded buildings. The UW-L admissions website indicates total enrollment is 8,295 undergraduate students on campus this year. By dividing the cost of utilities for these buildings by the number of students you get the average amount that a student is paying for utilities each year. This means that the average student is paying over $140 a year for utilities.
Investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency could decrease dependence on increasingly costly fuels. It's a preventative step students can take to ensure that these rising costs stay under control.
Similar programs have been instituted at UW-Green Bay and UW-Stevens Point, where they have installed solar water heaters. A $260,000 heater facilitated a 400-bed dormitory. As a ratio, then, $160,000 would be enough to heat water in the 250-bed residence halls slated for construction next year at UW-L. With an estimated enrollment of 8,417 students, a five dollar fee per semester for four semesters would be enough to pay for one of these heaters.
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