Facilities Management announced Friday it will install new, energy-saving light fixtures in campus bathrooms, which will dim bathroom lighting 75 percent in an effort to conserve electricity and reduce energy consumption levels throughout the dorms and university buildings.
In February Facilities Management installed new showerheads in the AU dorms with low-flow water pressure without informing students, sparking contention from the student body.
"This time around, we want to at least give students a warning about the changes we are planning to make. We learned our lesson from the showerhead incident in February, and we want to formally announce that there will be dimmer light fixtures in the bathrooms before we take action," said Paulie Evanson, a spokesman from AU's Facilities Management.
The light fixtures will be installed overnight, beginning Tuesday, April 3, at midnight. For most bathrooms, a circular light fixture will hang from the ceiling, and small, protected footlights will be placed around toilets and bathroom stalls for "convenient visibility," according to Evanson.
Evanson said the new light fixtures will not be as controversial as the showerheads proved to be for students.
"Students already shower in a dim space, and when they are not showering they spend only a small amount of their time there. As a result, we think students will understand that lighting shouldn't be a significant problem," Evanson said.
Evanson said the light fixtures are "unconventional and revolutionary," as AU finds more ways to become environmentally friendly. AU will be the first university to implement the newfangled light fixtures.
AU's annual electricity consumption has consistently been "very high" and the fixtures will help reduce consumption dramatically, according to Evanson. He would not specify, but stated that the figures for AU's electricity consumption have been organized to appear exclusively on fancy flyers, which will be placed on the bathroom stalls to educate students on the issue.
"Think about all the different lit-up bathrooms we currently have on campus. With six dorms and all of the main buildings to account for, that's a considerable amount of electricity required just in restroom facilities alone," Evanson said.
Some students who live on campus and who have already heard about the light fixtures are not fazed.
"I'm used to getting ready in the dark. The curtains are always closed in the morning, and my roommate is always asleep when I have to get dressed. I think I can handle brushing my teeth in the dark when I go to the bathroom," said Lauren Adler, a freshman in the College of Arts and Circusology.
Greg Cole, a junior in the School of Intranational Service, said he sees another benefit to the new lighting.
"The dimness will help make the bathrooms look generally cleaner. I mean, you really won't be able to see anything, but the guy's bathroom is always so dirty that you definitely don't want to see anything, either," Cole said.
Still, there is some mild reservation about the dimmer lighting.
"My main concern is that I'll end up walking out of the bathroom not knowing that I missed parts of my beard while shaving," said Matthew Brode, a sophomore in the School of Public Extramarital Affairs.
If successful, the new lighting fixtures will be featured in prospective student tours to emphasize AU as a progressive institution open to new ideas, according to Evanson.
