Author:
Dear Editor,
Last year students voted to create the Renewable Energy and Sustainability Fund so that Occidental could become more environmentally sustainable. Students, faculty, staff and clubs can apply to have a campus greening project funded by the Renewable Energy and Sustainability Fund (http://asoc.oxy.edu/asoc/sustainability.htm).
Originally, the fund was designed so that students had to opt-out of paying a yearly fee of $20 ($10 per semester). But the senate and business office changed that, and students have to opt-in to pay a voluntary fee. The opt-in system has made it very difficult for students to contribute money to the fund. Only 1/5 of students have contributed money so far. Please contribute to the fund!
You can opt-in here: http://departments.oxy.edu/business/student/RE&SF.html
Please tell 10 people to contribute to the fund. You can e-mail them the link. You can also join the Renewable Energy and Sustainability Fund Facebook group, invite friends to the group and send them the link.
Compared to peer institutions, Occidental is hardly environmentally friendly. Pomona College has a ZipCar program that allows students to have a car when they need it. All of the residence halls at Pitzer College are Gold LEED certified buildings. (The Occidental Board of Trustees voted against making Rangeview a LEED certified building.) Other schools use biodegradable to-go containers and utensils instead of plastic.
Oxy is located in one of the most polluted areas of the country. Oxy would contribute less to L.A.’s pollution if we obtained some of our energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar.
You can help fund future sustainability projects (such as solar panels and bike racks), and show the administration and the trustees that students care about the environment and climate change by contributing to the fund.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
