It may seem like there are not enough environmental initiatives happening on campus, but in fact, there is a very active community of students, faculty and staff working to make NEIU have a slightly smaller ecological footprint in the future than it did in the past or even does now.
This eco-friendly community has made some impressive headway in just the last few years. In 2007, the student organization Green Cycle Group initiated the three dollar green fee, which goes into a fund to promote sustainable projects on campus. This green fee has been used for such useful projects as installing over 30 motion sensors in many bathrooms, offices and corridors on all three of NEIU’s campuses. The green fee was also responsible for purchasing an electric vehicle for the maintenance staff and it can be spotted almost daily.
The Green Cycle Group was responsible for the computer labs using paper that is made up of at least 30 percent recycled content, the commonality of double sided printing and the semester printing limit. All of these initiatives were designed to save paper and keep the student computing fee from rising with the rising costs of paper. Speaking of paper, one would be hard pressed not to notice the actively functioning recycling program on campus. In 2008, NEIU recycled 181 tons of paper and cardboard. That works out to saving about 1800 trees that would have been cut down! Next time you’re thinking of throwing out that test you bombed, think again!
There are many other exciting projects in the works, too. The Green Fee Committee is currently talking about installing a “green roof”, an innovative rooftop garden intended to drive down heating costs and increase habitat for local wildlife, on the B building. The Green Cycle Group is in negotiations with President Hahs to get her to sign the “American College and University President’s Climate Commitment”, which would make us part of a nation-wide initiative to become carbon neutral by a mutually agreed-upon date.
It isn’t difficult to get involved in these efforts and it can be extremely rewarding to be a part of them. The environmental community here at NEIU is not an isolated one, either. It is a part of a much larger world of activists from interdisciplinary backgrounds. Getting involved here could lead to becoming civically involved in your neighborhood, which not only looks good on a resume, but also makes you into a more well rounded individual.