Sustainability Council, IUSA campaign for greener campus

Attempt number three at creating a Sustainability Fund will require 10,000 student signatures in one semester.

This year, through a partnership with IU Student Association, members of the Student Sustainability Council hope to collect enough signatures to place a voluntary donation for the fund on IU’s class registration website.

Previously known as the Green Initiative Fund, the Student Sustainability Council represents “green” student interests to the Office of Sustainability and promotes
communication between student groups.

Members of the council are students who represent a variety of campus groups.
All proceeds would benefit Student Sustainability Council initiatives, said Jacob Bower-Bir, graduate student and Student Sustainability Council co-chairman.

Bower-Bir said donations would allow the sustainability council to expand and pursue projects such a solar panels and bike rack installation on campus.

“The student population in general is contributing to what is probably the single most important problem of our generation, and of course future generations, given the nature of the problem,” he said.

Bower-Bir said the council also hopes to give students an opportunity to express dissent for the fund through forums and in other public venues.

Freshman Anne McDougall said she hadn’t yet heard of the Sustainability Fund campaign.

“I’m not sure how effective the check box might be, since in general opting out gets more people than opting in,” McDougall said.

However, McDougall said she thought sustainability was an important campus issue.
Bower-Bir said he hopes that making the Sustainability Fund an IUSA platform issue will help launch the initiative in a more effective way.

The two groups have encountered problems in the past, Bower-Bir said, because the B-town administration chose to pursue the issue without Student Sustainability Council support.

However, Bower-Bir said current IUSA President and senior Michael Coleman has done a “tremendous job” of rectifying the situation and respecting the council.

“The new IUSA administration is certainly more amenable to this issue than in the past,” he said.

IUSA Chief of Sustainability and junior Ian Kaelble said the signature campaign and fund will allow students to show support for campus sustainability projects.

“It shows that the student body cares about making IU a more sustainable place,”
Kaelble said.

Kaelble said volunteers will be collecting signatures Mondays and Thursdays outside Ballantine Hall, as well as visiting residence halls and greek houses.

Kaelble said a new electronic signature collection system — currently awaiting approval by the registrar — could also help the project succeed.

If accepted, a portion of the signatures would still have to be physically collected by volunteers, Kaelble said.

“The key to getting signatures is just the fact that people know what’s going on,” Kaelble said.