Collegiate Times

What’s a green fund? Maybe you think that you already give the university too much green. What if you, as a student, could actually apply for some “green” to fund a project on campus that would make Virginia Tech more sustainable? The ability to do just that might be a reality in the near future.

Many Tech students have expressed a need for more bike racks and recycling bins. Some students would like more transportation options or bio-fuel buses. Others have come up with unique ideas to make campus more sustainable, like community gardens, bike-shares and composting. However, there has never been an easy way to make these innovative ideas a reality for the students who push for them. The green fund is the solution.

A green fund is currently being researched and pursued by students at Tech who want to give everyone with a good idea a chance to make a lasting impact on our university. The basic concept of a green fund is that each student would pay a small amount each semester, along with their tuition and other fees, which would go into a general green fund. The money that the fund generates could then be used for sustainable projects around campus.

This concept is nothing new — there are 66 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada that have either implemented or voted to implement a green fund program as of May 2009.

The University of North Carolina currently has a $4 green fee, University of Maryland has a $6 green fee and The College of William & Mary has a $15 green fee. These schools and others have used the money to purchase solar energy, wind energy and renewable energy credits. Money has also been used for other sustainability initiatives as well, such as recycling, development of sustainability departments, purchasing of student public transit passes, green and LEED certified buildings, and the creation of sustainability and clean energy projects. Northland College in Wisconsin uses the funds to provide students with garden plots to grow their own food, and Portland State

University hopes to use the money to pay for bike parking stations, a new bike loan program and water bottle refilling stations.

Tech would use a green fund for similar projects. Just a $5 fee, implemented for one semester at Tech, could generate a fund of $130,000. That is only 0.5 percent of the current fees that students already pay. A $15 fee could generate almost $400,000. This money would be used to make our campus more sustainable, while giving the student body the power to choose the projects, submit ideas and make big changes in the university.

Unlike other student fees, the green fee empowers students, specifically those in a committee, to decide how the money will be spent. Green Fund Committees in other schools, designed to ensure smart spending, are typically comprised of at least one faculty adviser and mainly students.

The committee could give the university permission to use green fund money for things such as green campus infrastructure upgrades, which would save the university money and could reduce tuition costs. So money given could ultimately give right back to the students. However, Tech’s proposed Green Fund would also have an opt-out option, so if students really couldn’t afford or didn’t want to pay the addition to tuition they would have that choice.

You may be reading this with some skepticism, and if that is so I encourage you to ask questions and be heard. This green fee is being proposed to the university in the spring and is currently being designed by students, specifically to empower students to make the changes that they want to see in this university. We want to hear your concerns, ideas and questions.

There are two ways that you can voice your opinion: Go online and fill out a survey, or come to The Green Fund Forum which will take place in the future.

The Green Fund Forum will be a direct way to hear how other schools have used their green funds and what Tech hopes to do with ours. During and after the panel you can ask questions and get answers immediately. If you want to get involved in the task force, you can. You as a student have a voice that really matters and needs to be heard. This is a big opportunity to make a huge sustainable impact on your college experience.

Go to http://studentvoice.com/vtech/sgagreenfee09 and fill out the survey.