|
MHC Community Responds with Many Green Ideas
Story by Rachel Connor
Bob McLendon, VP of administration, left, and Paul Smith, business professor, visit The Hilltop staff to discuss efforts at campus sustainability. Photo by Shawn Esworthy.
|
The Mars Hill College administration received quite a response to a January request to gather campus thoughts about sustainability. Sustainability is simply the idea of “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” according to key proponents of the idea on campus.
The feedback, compiled by the office of vice president of administration, included many ideas about how to improve energy use and technologies on campus – from upgrading lighting, reducing food waste, using efficient heating and cooling methods to reusing wastewater and recycling more.
Recycling seemed to be a primary issue for many responders, both students and faculty.
One student wrote that “easier access to recycling bins” should be a priority around campus. Right now, there is one recycling bin per dorm or apartment and few recycling bins elsewhere on campus. Currently, Madison County is responsible for taking care of campus recycling.
Another student noted that the buildings need more recycling bins and different types of bins. “More recycling on campus – more than paper -- have metal, plastic and plastic recycling bins in our dorm trash rooms,” the student respondent wrote.
Many students also provided interesting suggestions for saving food and water. A general consensus among responders was that “all food waste from the Caf and Lion’s Den” should be composted and given to local farmers.
The dining hall has already reduced its water usage by doing away with trays. However, many suggested that more water on campus could be saved by installing efficient showerheads in dorms and the gym and increasing rainwater collection systems.
Other suggestions focused on education. Several students wrote that the administration should “encourage a green and sustainable focus on campus, in the classrooms and in the dorms.” Many students seem interested in recycling but may not know much about it.
Bob McLendon, who spearheaded the collection of environmental ideas as vice president of administration, said he thought students should be more active in advocating for more recycling efforts and getting involved with making them happen.
“We need to educate, guess what? The college,” he said in an interview recently with the staff of The Hilltop.
McLendon said that perhaps some kind of “Awareness Day” should be started to educate students and the MHC community about issues of sustainability – be it recycling or turning off lights when leaving dorm rooms.
McLendon discussed successful efforts to “green” campus, including Ferguson’s well-publicized geo-thermal system, which heats and cools the building and will do the same for Wall Science building once its renovation is complete. However, knowledge of how geothermal works is less well-known.
Paul Smith, who joined McLendon for the sustainability discussion with Hilltop staff, explained that geo-thermal works this way: pipes run down into the ground and back through drilled holes, transferring the heat from beneath the earth to buildings on the surface; this heat regulates the summer heat and winter cold in the building.
At first, a geo-thermal system is more expensive, because there are greater upfront costs, meaning it has a higher price tag at installation. However, McLendon said, he thought the geothermal system in Ferguson will likely pay for itself after 6 or 7 years because of the money it saves in heating and air bills.
A new building being proposed for campus, Day Hall, will be nationally certified as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), according to McLendon.
Smith, an MHC business professor and sustainability advocate, said he believes in students’ enthusiasm for sustainability.
“You guys get it,” Smith told The Hilltop. “You are moving into a life where you know that sustainability is going to be important.”
However, McLendon said he felt a commitment or push must come from the student body for major changes to stick.
| HOME | ARCHIVE | OPINIONS | EMAIL US |
| 
