“It is in my opinion that proper time and consideration was not given to a piece of legislation that could have an enormous effect on our campus.”
—Western Student Association President Nate Knappen on the WSA’s retraction of endorsement for the Sustainability Fund Initiative.
My compliments to the Western Student Association for having the sense to take a step back and reassess the Sustainability Fund Initiative.
The decision to not endorse the initiative isn’t a commentary on its viability or importance. Rather, it reflects the rushed manner in which the initiative was promoted to and “accepted” by the WSA.
According to last Thursday’s Western Herald article, Knappen claimed that the authors of the resolution sought understanding of the student body on the SFI, rather than an endorsement from the WSA.
This reminds me of another “community” initiative: the proposed downtown Kalamazoo event center (aka “The Arena”). Unlike the Arena, the SFI is not a scam designed to milk county taxpayers. Still, both issues were forced on the university and public rather quickly.
The SFI seeks to improve WMU’s environmental stewardship, but it would come at a cost to students. The Arena will allegedly bring new jobs and business to Kalamazoo. However, I have yet to hear a plausible solution for parking or increased traffic.
While my view of the SFI is less harsh, I’m in no mood to pay even more money to the university. Both the SFI and Arena will be non-issues for me soon, though. I plan on graduating and leaving Kalamazoo before having to put up with more fees and taxes.
—Brian Diefenbach
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