Sustainability concerns dominated Thursday’s Town Hall, featuring President Neil Kerwin and Board of Trustee Chairman Gary Abramson answering students’ questions.
Eco-Sense Vice President Alli Schultz questioned AU’s commitment to sustainability, particularly after many bottles of water were purchased for convocation.
Kerwin said the reduction of bottled water was one of the University’s goals for 2020, which many offices on campus have already achieved.
“The plan that we have in place is posted on the website, we’ve all bet that the elimination of beveraged water would probably be minor, but symbolically quite significant,” he said.
Eco-Sense President Jennifer Jones asked if Kerwin supported a $10 fee for undergraduate students as a contribution to the Clean Energy Revolving Fund to produce cleaner energy on campus.
“Fees are something we’ve always avoided if we can because we feel that it’s a form of tuition,” Kerwin said.
Students also asked about incorporating sustainability classes into the General Education program.
“[We] have incidentally hired faculty who are interested in issues of sustainability, interested in issues of the environment, and have extraordinary expertise in those areas,” said Provost Scott Bass.
pjones@theeagleonline.com
