IUSA congress votes to support sustainability

The IU Student Association will support an initiative to make IU an environmentally healthy and sustainable institution. \nAt its meeting Tuesday evening, the IUSA Congress voted to support a letter asking interim Provost Michael McRobbie to create an IU-Bloomington Sustainability Task Force consisting of faculty, staff and students. \nThe IUSA-sponsored letter proposes the task force assess IU's current sustainability status, identify key areas of concern and create a plan to make the campus more environmentally efficient. \n"Sustainability is a broad issue that is essential for the survival of humankind," physics professor Ben Brabson said. \nBrabson and Isabel Piedmont, the administrative assistant in the French and Italian department, presented the letter at the IUSA Congress meeting. \nSustainability is the concept of environmental preservation. Major issues include energy use and recycling. Brabson said implementing a plan for sustainability would save money and environmental resources in all areas of the University: energy at the physical plant, paper in computer labs and food preparation in the residential dining halls.\n"IU is the only school in the Big Ten without a sustainability initiative," Piedmont said. \nThe sustainability initiative is an attempt to revitalize environmental preservation initiatives on campus. \n"In the past, students have been involved in sustainability and environmental issues," IUSA President Betsey Henke. "However, the issue has not attracted the attention that it deserves in order to bring IU to a level comparable or exceeding that of our peer sch----ools and their respective sustainability initiatives."\nStudents are important for the vision and implementation of a sustainability plan, Brabson said. He said younger people have the motivation to act, while older generations hesitate to make change. \nInput from student groups could help persuade the provost to create a Sustainability Task Force. Henke said if the task force is created, IUSA would like to see students aware of sustainability issues and involved in making a difference. \n"We want to help collaborate student voice and advocacy to demonstrate to administrators and the University that students do care, even though it may seem our time here (as students) is limited," Henke said. \nThe letter, which Brabson and Piedmont hope will be sent to McRobbie within a week, has been signed by faculty members, staff members and IUSA. Other groups on campus, including the Bloomington Faculty Council and the Graduate and Professional Student Organization, are being approached for support. \nMcRobbie is aware that a letter has been drafted and of the overall concerns that various campus groups have for the environment, director of IU Media Relations Larry MacIntyre said. However, MacIntyre said because McRobbie has not yet read the letter, he will not comment about the state of sustainability on campus at this time. \n"IUSA has not taken a role regarding IU sustainability initiatives, but this is an opportunity to change that," Henke said. "We want to be proactive and enable students to take a more active role in this task force to demonstrate to the University, including its students, faculty and especially administrators, that we care and want to make an impact on the foundation of future sustainability efforts"