It is impressive that Wesleyan recently received an A- on the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card, given the fact that the University’s limited endowment has prevented the administration from hiring a Director of Sustainability or funding environmental projects. Wesleyan’s high grade indicates that, if the administration had more money to support environmental initiatives, it could become one of the most sustainable universities in the nation.
A green fee, an optional addition to the student activities fee, would provide the money necessary to truly become a sustainable campus. Therefore, there is absolutely no reason to oppose the proposed green fee at Wesleyan.
At $30 per year, it would be a reasonable addition to the $270 student activities fee, and since it’s optional, students don’t even have to pay the fee if they don’t want to. Given the administration’s hesitancy to pay for sustainability projects due to the current economic climate, a green fee would be a viable way to bypass bureaucracy and directly fund these initiatives. Money generated from the green fee would not be insignificant either, amounting to approximately $65,000.
However, even proposals as blatantly positive as this one can be delayed due to arbitrary bureaucratic decisions—an unacceptable outcome when many schools, such as Tufts, Connecticut College, and Oberlin, have already successfully implemented green fees, which have funded projects that Wesleyan environmental groups can only dream about.
One of our lowest grades on the sustainability report card was our B in student involvement. What better way to raise this grade than for Wesleyan’s student body to push for the swift passage of the green fee. This is an opportunity to initiate significant long-term change by establishing a consistent source of funding for environmental initiatives for years to come, regardless of the administration’s financial woes. Now is the time to not just discuss how to save the environment, but to fight for the establishment of a concrete means through which we can begin solving environmental problems.
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