2008 Woodie Awards
Student Government Association changes focus to conservation
Robert Wnorowski
Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: News
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"I personally always had a passion for conserving the ecosystem," SGA President Erik Emdur ('09) said. He feels most Americans have taken for granted things such as camping, canoeing and breathing fresh air. "I see opportunities on campus to better [the environment]."
Emdur said that over January break he sent a campus-wide e-mail asking the student body to e-mail him their concerns. "I got about 100 students to reply and had e-mail conversation with them," Emdur said. "One recurring theme was environmental concerns on campus… such as waste, energy use and the inadequate job we as students do with recycling."
Prior to January, Emdur challenged the SGA to take an active role in conserving the environment. This semester, he plans to create an official draft and extend the "conservation challenge" to other leaders on campus. "Everyone who takes the pledge would strive to reduce their ecological footprints," Emdur said. He urges Drewids to watch how they use energy, keep windows closed when the weather is cold and turn water and lights off when not in use. "If we all changed those habits, we would help the environment and Drew," Emdur said.
The SGA committee in charge of this initiative is the Health, Plant and Public Safety Committee chaired by Gary DiClementi ('09). "This [initiative] is the plant portion of the committee," DiClementi said. Decreasing the use of paper is one way DiClementi thinks the university can start reducing unnecessary waste. "One of the best ways is in the classroom, where students can get involved and hold professors accountable," DiClementi said. "We hope to get teachers to submit their syllabi electronically and accept papers electronically."
Although professors might prefer commenting on hard copies of essays, DiClementi said that Microsoft Word has a feature where professors can insert comments right on the page.
Papers could be e-mailed to professors or posted on Moodle, he added. "Some professors want hard copies, which is a generational thing, but here at Drew we're progressive," he said. DiClementi is currently speaking with faculty members to gain support.
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