The Do-It-In-The-Dark program has saved the University more than $80,000 over the past two years, even though the only residences competing in the program were senior wood-frame houses.While program houses will be included this year, most of the Wesleyan student body will still be unable to participate in the program, and most students will remain unaware of the program’s existence, especially the freshmen class.
In light of the program’s incredible success, it would be an excellent time for the program to expand not just to program houses, but also to residence halls so that more students can be aware of the program. While we recognize that it is difficult to judge energy savings in residence halls because there is no way to isolate their energy consumption from the rest of the campus grid, the University should begin looking for ways to solve this problem.
It’s great that faculty and staff have become more conscious of the program and are getting more involved, but it is equally important to get more students excited about the competition not just to bolster the program’s success, but also to promote awareness of other sustainability programs.
There is another reason for trying to increase excitement about Do-It-In-The-Dark: many students begin to forget about the program in the Spring, causing energy consumption to rise again. If freshmen and sophomores in residence halls were included in the program, there would be more competition and thus greater incentive for each residence to reduce energy costs throughout the year.
The $80,000 saved by Do-It-In-The-Dark program is significant: it could pay for a faculty member’s salary or even save WESU. If the program were expanded, the University would begin to save more money and continue its goal of becoming a more sustainable campus.
Let’s make the Do-It-In-The-Dark program a key component of the University’s sustainability initiatives and prove that Wesleyan’s student body is truly dedicated to solving environmental issues.
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