Students Push Green Efforts

Efforts to encourage sustainable living and promote environmental issues at Columbia are increasing as students and administrators work to promote awareness around campus.

With initiatives such as "Give and Go Green"-a recycling campaign that provides students with a way to donate used clothes, textbooks, and electronics to local charities during move-out-and the "Be Green Living Challenge," which pits suites in the Living Learning Center against each other to determine which could adopt the most environmentally friendly habits, student groups and administrators are working to promote understanding among Columbia students about the significance of these environmental initiatives.

"We want to get more of that grass roots movement so that enough people know it's important," Scott Wright, director of Housing and Dining, said, referring to the promotion of a sustainable way of life.

The Eco-Reps program, formed last year both to educate students on sustainable living in residence halls, acts as a go-between for students and the Office of Housing and Dining.

"Our issue is encouraging more people to live sustainably. ... We want to educate people," Hannah Lee, SEAS '09 and an Eco-Rep, said.

Along with sponsoring events like "Give and Go Green," the Eco-Reps are looking to implement educational programs that will provide students with opportunities to learn about issues ranging from water conservation to food waste reduction and to educate the resident advisors in the Living Learning Centers about how to effectively promote sustainability in their dorms.

"Eco-Reps is all about the way you're living," Lee said. "We want to integrate this into your daily life."

In addition to the student initiatives, the Office of Housing and Dining is also making efforts to increase environmental awareness.

"We are trying to focus on what we can do," Wright said. "We want to make it more like second nature."

Installation of occupancy sensors-light switches that automatically turn off when no motion is detected-dual flush toilets, and special bamboo flooring are among the many projects that the Office of Housing and Dining is working on to make student residences more environmentally friendly.

In a recent review of environmental initiatives at major universities, completed by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, Columbia earned an overall B grade. The study reviewed such criteria as "food & recycling," "climate change & energy," and "shareholder engagement."

With regards to increasing campus awareness of environmental issues, some students have noted that they sometimes struggle to get the support they need from administration.

"Part of the challenge is that we have to show the University that people are interested in this," Lee said. "We almost have to prove it."