American University voted to pass the Clean Energyt Referendum in the recent student government election, and Eco-Sense, sponsor of the referendum, will now work with the SG and university administrators for its inaction.
The Clean Energy Referendum asks AU to invest in 50 percent clean energy, such as wind, by 2012, according to Claire Roby, president of Eco-Sense.
The referendum needed 50 plus one percent to pass. It received 71.2 percent of the vote.
Pepco supplies the university with 52 million kilohours of energy a year, Roby said.
"I think the 20 percent [who voted against the referendum] were more confused than against it," said Jacqueline Christy, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Eco-Sense now has to continue its campaign with the Student Government and administration to further the referendum.
"I'm looking forward to gearing up for the next phase in which we will work with the administration to act upon this strong message from the student body," Roby said.
The referendum is a binding agreement on the newly elected SG president, Ashley Mushnick, meaning that she has to work with the administration to enact the referendum, Roby said. It is not, however, binding on the administration; it is just a persuasion tool.
"I feel that when we look at what's going on in the world and fossil fuels and all the problems with that - I feel we have to try to move away from that and our best option is wind energy," Roby said.
Roby and other members of Eco-Sense have talked to the upper level administration in the offices of campus life, who support the referendum.
"They think it's very feasible," Roby said.
The administration previously hired a consultant who researched alternate energy possibilities, Roby said. The logistics of the referendum are the result of consultant's work. The consultant suggested to invest in a wind farm in West Virginia where wind farms are already being built and working.
"We want the university to have a long-term contract to invest in a wind farm," Roby said.
The referendum suggests the university should charge students a maximum of $10 a year to invest in wind energy.
"The actual cost of wind energy will initially be more than that but the university should budget it into their normal expenses," Roby said.
Eco-Sense started campaigning early to make people aware of the Clean Energy Referendum. Eco-Sense began researching clean energy possibilities the second week of the semester and started collecting signatures the last week of February. They began campaigning on campus post-spring break, Roby said.
They held an information session where an expert from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network explained the referendum. Members of Eco-Sense also handed out quarter sheets and went door to door in all of the dorm buildings explaining the referendum, Roby said.
One of the challenges, Roby said, was explaining to students that wind turbines would not be built on campus.
During the three days of voting, Eco-Sense handed out pinwheels that said "Vote Clean Energy Today." Members of Eco-Sense also dressed up like a turbine and a smoke stack and staged a fight.
The referendum needed 550 student signatures, or 10 percent of the undergraduate student body, for the referendum to appear on the ballot. Eco-Sense gathered over 700 signatures.
Clean energy is a growing movement on campuses and is becoming an issue in student government elections nationwide, Roby said.
"If AU does this, we would definitely become a leader in the mid-Atlantic region," Roby said.
Now that the referendum has passed, Eco-Sense will move into the next phase of the campaign.
"We are going to start putting pressure on the administration to listen to what students said and budget for clean energy," Roby said.
Students have mixed reactions to the referendum.
"F*** clean energy. We need to take that $10 and buy ice machines in the halls," said Nick Marino, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs. "AU is too politically active and for that reason we drink Pura Vida coffee instead of peppermint latt?s in beautiful Starbucks cups, and if we keep it up, we'll be budgeting wind instead of drinking iced tea."
Eco-Sense Referendum
I want American University to budget for at least 50 percent clean, renewable energy, such as wind, by 2012. This can be realized through allocating funds from the regular tuition increase which already occurs, and/or by raising student fees up to an additional $10 per student per year if necessary. This will reflect institutional and student values, as well as allow the university to aim for Kyoto Protocol Targets. (Elect 1)
Yes 71.2% (1284) No 21.4% (387) Abstentions 6.88% (124) Write-Ins 0.38% (7)
Total Votes Cast: 1802 -Information from the Board of Elections
