‘Green fee’ to be on WSA ballot

By Fritz Klug
News Editor

This WSA election ballot has something unique this year: the option for students to endorse a $8 green free that would provide money to help fund an office of sustainability and student research and initiatives.

The $8 from every student in the fall and spring semesters, and $4 in the summer, would amount to around half a million dollars a year.

Twenty percent of that would go to help fund the salaries of administrators and other expenses for the office of sustainability and 15 percent would go to hire 10 part-time students for that office.

Sixty-five percent would be allocated to students who request it for sustainability research or initiatives on campus.

The committee would be made up of nine undergraduates and two graduate students, and, according to the current bylaws, be a part of the WSA, which would have to be voted on in next year’s election, according to Matt Hollander, a WMU grad student who works for the President’s Universitywide Sustainability Committee.

The ballot measure is a referendum in support of the fee. It would have to be approved by the Board of Trustees in their July meeting.

Hollander said students will be voting on the idea of the fee, and not the nuts-and-bolts of how it operates. While there currently is a set of bylaws, it will be worked on next year.

Research began in November, 2009, by the President’s Universitywide Sustainability Committee, and the process of putting it on the ballot began in January. They worked with Diane Anderson, WSA advisor Chris Sleigh, and Alex Roman, chair of the Election Control Committee to get it on the ballot.

“The hardest part was to make it presentable,” Cooper said. The committee had to work with the WSA to make sure that it met their requirements.

So far, the SFI has been endorsed by 11 organizations, including Hoekje Hall Council, WMU Geography Club, Recycling and Waste Reduction Services, Student Conservation Association and the Peace Center.

It was first formally introduced to WSA on March 10 — five days before the election.

The senate supported the SFI 34 for, 17 against, with one sitting out.

Isaac Adler, a senator from the College of Aviation, said that while good would come from the fee, there was not enough time for WSA to debate it when it was introduced.

Adler said that since the election was in five days, it couldn’t have been tabled to have further discussion at a future meeting.

Adler said he is also opposed to the fee funding student research projects and initiatives, that it would fund a narrow and niche market of students. Also, he believes that these same students would be more qualified for the part-time jobs than others.

Adler suggested the funding be tuition-based, like other student jobs on campus.

“I hope it doesn’t pass, but is brought back next year and structured differently,” Adler said.

A kick-off event will be held for the SFI Monday from noon to 1 p.m. at the flagpoles on campus.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Mar 14 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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