SGA hopes campus will GO GREEN

The VCU Student Government Association is looking
to implement some “intelligent developments”
on campus.

SGA President Jessica Lee and Roberto Celis, the
SGA’s “green coordinator,” have written a letter to
President Eugene P. Trani urging the university to
take actions toward becoming
more environmentally friendly.
The letter, which has not been
presented to Trani yet, will act
as a student petition to see
these changes enacted.

The letter states the threats
of “global warming and environmental
degradation”
are the greatest peril of this
generation.
“Our school is getting so
big,” Lee states in the letter.
“We need to increase what we
do to provide for our students
in terms of services, but we
also need to make sure that we
aren’t burdening the environment
by our large numbers in
the process.

“Considering the damage and the lifestyle that we
as a society have already established, it will take a
tremendous effort at every level to overcome these
hurdles,” Lee states.

Of the strategies of improvement to which the
SGA hopes the administration will commit, the first
would ensure all new VCU construction adheres to
the guidelines of the United States Green Building
Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design set by the council’s Green Building Rating
System.

The SGA also would like to see “fast-track retrofitting”
of current VCU buildings to make them more
environmentally friendly.

Another of the SGA’s priorities is to ensure that all
new vehicles purchased by the university have aboveaverage
emissions ratings as evaluated by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Vehicle
Program. The SGA also hopes VCU will pressure the
Greater Richmond Transportation Commission to use
their most efficient vehicles on campus routes.

The final item in the letter to Trani calls for an
increased recycling effort on campus. The SGA hopes
to double the current effort and
would like a commitment from
the university to buy products
– especially paper – with high
recycled-material content.

In her letter, Lee states that a
committee of faculty, staff and
students formed specifically
for this task should oversee
these goals.

“We are hoping to make this
part of a broader movement,”
Lee said.

She said Celis and members
of the SGA will be present at
the upcoming “Living Simply”
programs on Tuesdays Feb. 19
and 26. The SGA members will
take part in panel discussions
on how not just VCU, but all
Richmond-area residents can live and consume in
more ecologically and socially conscious ways.

“We are proud to say that VCU is already beginning
to move forward in becoming environmentally
friendly,” Lee states. “However, more change is
needed. Given the student’s commitment to make a
difference and the unique position of VCU to lead, I
ask your administration to make a firm commitment
to go ‘green.’ “

Lee said the administration already has stressed it
wants to achieve the items listed in the letter, and the
letter’s purpose is to make sure nothing gets swept
under the table.

“With this commitment from you, the
continued input from a dedicated committee
and the action of a concerned student body,”
Lee states. “I know VCU can both succeed and
lead in this fight.”

Lee said the SGA is relying equally on
students and the administration for its “green”
initiative to work.

“For as much as the administration does, if
there isn’t student support, nothing happens,”
she said.

Celis is taking on the job of being the
link between the administration and the
students.

If students want to add their names to the
letter, they may send an e-mail to green@vcu.
sga, including both their names and their wish
to be included in the petition. E-mailing will
constitute a digital signature on the letter.

Lee said soon there will be a more streamlined
way of signing the letter without having
to send an e-mail.

To view the SGA’s letter go to green.vcusga.com.