Collegiate Times

Both SGA tickets are focusing on environmental sustainability as a key platform in this year's elections.

Shane McCarty, SGA4You vice presidential candidate, said sustainability is one of the top concerns for students at Tech.

"SGA4You found that an overwhelming majority of students said that sustainability is a very important issue on our campus," McCarty said. "One of our plans is to replace the incandescent light bulbs on campus with compact fluorescent light bulbs, which in turn would reduce energy usage by 75 percent. This is not only a way to save money for Tech, but it is also a way to be sustainable at the same time."

Morgan Bradley, SGA4You secretary candidate added that SGA4You is also interested in implementing a university wide recycling program.

Kirsten Kube, UnitedSGA vice presidential candidate, said UnitedSGA is working to deal directly with sustainability issues on campus.

"Our program would involve creating a position on our executive team that deals directly with sustainability as it relates to student outreach," Kube said. "We could hold monthly seminars on sustainability for the students. The goal is to make the students aware that they can make a difference in helping this community become more green."

McCarty said one of SGA4You's platforms is making a "Big Event: Green Edition" next year.

"What we would be doing is giving the homeowner long-term value, something that will save them money," McCarty said. "For a lot of people, they consider energy bills a fixed cost, so what we want to do as students is to find a way to give back that will provide long-term value. There are simple things that we can do and it is amazing how some things like lighting and cracked windows are where your high costs in electricity are coming from."

Alex Miller, UnitedSGA presidential candidate, said UnitedSGA is working to advocate the dining initiative of reusable mugs on campus.

"Members of the Environmental Coalition have been big advocates of the reusable mugs," Miller said. "We have met with Andy Sarjahani, the sustainability coordinator on campus. He said that through the legislation passed in the fall, Tech is looking into using the reusable mugs, but they are still looking at which type of mug would work best for students."

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