The Green Fee Committee met last week to discuss what they are doing with your money.
The $3 green fee, which first showed up on tuition bills in fall of 2007, is intended to be used to promote sustainable projects on campus. The committee, composed of representatives from the student body, facilities management and the faculty, meets once a month to evaluate each project’s progress.
Past project successes include replacing a maintenance vehicle with an electric car to reduce emissions and fuel costs, purchasing new bike racks to encourage bicycle commuting and installing motion sensors in twenty main campus bathrooms to reduce electricity consumption and help keep tuition costs reasonable.
In fact, the motion sensor pilot project has been so successful that the committee is looking into adding motion sensors in the bathrooms at the Center for Inner City Studies and in the tunnels that connect buildings on the main campus.
The Green Fee Treasury currently has $101,000 to spend. There is strong interest in installing solar technology in a visible place on campus, but so far, the committee has yet to find a cost-appropriate solar project.
The committee will be hosting an informational table in the Village Square on Thursday, Feb. 26, which will include detailed information about past projects and future goals, as well as a suggestion box for students to provide their ideas. The next meeting will be held on March 31, and the committee encourages the NEIU community to attend. In the meantime, they said students and faculty can do their part for the environment and the university by turning off the lights in unoccupied classrooms. Individuals interested in more information should go to the Green Fee Committee’s Web site: www.neiu.edu/~greenfee.