What is the proposed Campus Sustainability Fund?
The proposed Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) is a major, student-led investment in a greener, more sustainable campus. It will provide funding for projects that increase campus sustainability, prioritize student leadership and involvement, and educate UW students, faculty, and staff in order to create a more environmentally responsible campus culture. The creation of the CSF will allow students to set the University's environmental agenda and create educational opportunities in the process. It will create incredible opportunities for students to get engaged and create a lasting, positive change on campus.
What can be funded?
The CSF prioritizes projects that reduce the University's environmental impact while providing education and leadership opportunities for students.
Who can apply for CSF funds?
Projects can be proposed by faculty, students, or staff of the University of Washington Seattle campus.
What kinds of projects are possible?
Any project is possible as long as it meets the CSF's core criteria:
- Environmental Impact (including carbon emissions, energy and water use, waste, living systems and biodiversity, and pollutants and toxics.)
- Student Leadership & Involvement
- Education, Outreach, & Behavior Change
- Feasibility, Accountability, & Sustainability
Have students at other schools done this?
Yes! There are currently at least 66 other schools with similar student-led sustainability funds, including the University of California at Santa Barbara and Berkeley, Portland State University, and the University of Vermont. Local schools such as Western Washington University, Evergreen State College, Pacific Lutheran University, University of Oregon and Oregon State University have also implemented student-funded sustainability programs.
How will CSF be funded?
We are requesting a budget of $685,000 for the CSF for the 2010-2011 academic year. Our proposal requests funding from the student-funded Services and Activities Fee (SAF). SAF is a fee that every UW student pays quarterly. Currently the fee is $113 per quarter. Every year a committee of seven students (4 appointed by ASUW and 3 by GPSS) hear budget proposal from a variety of departments and on-campus organizations and decide how to allocate their approximately $16.5 million budget. Last year the SAF fee allocated funds to organizations including ASUW, GPSS, the Ethnic Cultural Center, and Hall Health. We are proposing that the SAF Committee either re-allocate funds from last year's budget to include the CSF budget or increase the SAF fee by up to $5.00 to generate the proposed $685,000.
Why $685,000?
A budget of $685,000 correlates to $5 per student per quarter. This amount is a substantial enough to facilitate dramatic, immediate, and substantial change on the UW campus while being a relatively small per student amount.
Our proposed cost per student - $5 per student per quarter - is in line with national average, and well below comparable local institutions. Nationally, the average per student green fees are between $15-$20 annually. Other Washington State education institutions are far higher. At Western Washington University, students pay $10.50 per quarter, and at the Evergreen State College students pay $58.00 annually.
A fund of $685,000 would make the UW's fund the largest in the country, without overburdening our student body.
What is sustainability?
Sustainability has many definitions - some conventional, some controversial. Underlying all of them is the idea that the natural world provides many benefits to human society, including clean air and clean water, the ability to grow food, and natural resources for industrial use. Sustainability means we have to interact with the natural world in a way that does not compromise the ability of the earth to continue providing these benefits.
What if sustainability is not my priority?
The CSF will still offer leadership development and educational opportunities for students who do not prioritize environmental sustainability. From internships and work study positions to new classes, speakers, and events, the CSF will provide opportunities to the whole campus community regardless of individual priorities.
Why should we create a sustainability fund now?
Continued environmental degradation (i.e. climate change, unsustainable resource use, ocean acidification, pollution, deforestation etc.) is arguably the greatest challenge that our generation faces. The University of Washington has made commitments to address these issues, and has taken large measures to increase campus sustainability. Unfortunately, looming budget cuts threaten the progress that has been made, and the University will have even less money to make immediate and dramatic change.
By creating the CSF, we provide a funding source for this important work - and put students in the driver's seat. Now is the time to let students lead the way by proposing, funding, and leading projects that leave lasting environmental benefits and educate the campus community.
