Going Green: Students approve increase in sustainability fee

The March 4 student election included a Sustainable Campus Referendum that raised the Sustainable Campus Fee from $5 to $14 per semester. The Student Sustainability Committee allocates the refundable fee, which supports grants or interest-free loans to applicable campus projects. Past projects supported by the fee, which was instituted in spring 2007, include the student farm, which grows tons of produce for the dining halls and offers opportunities for students to learn hands-on about sustainable food production; a student project to make biodiesel fuel out of waste from the dining halls for use in university cars; and the green roof and solar array at the Business Instructional Facility. In order to take effect this fall, the fee increase must be approved by the UI Board of Trustees, who could vote for its approval this summer. Seventy-seven percent of voters supported the fee increase, a higher percentage than on previous environmental referenda passed in 2003 and 2007.