Ellington

Members of the Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) celebrated the fund’s establishment yesterday, after the Services and Activities Fee (SAF) Committee granted half of its initial request Monday. With $339,805, the group now must decide on guidelines for how to allocate the funds.

“We’ve worked really hard for the last six years to establish the CSF,” said Justin Hellier, member of the fund and a graduate student in the Evans School of Public Affairs. “We feel this amount of money is a huge commitment.”

The CSF campaign was driven by more than 50 students and 1,000 hours in volunteering efforts. In addition, 52 registered student organizations endorsed the fund, and 5,511 students signed a petition in support of it.

“Our students came together to support [the fund],” Hellier said, mentioning that more student signatures were gathered than the total number of student votes in this year’s ASUW elections. “[We] intend to be accountable to the student body.”

With the establishment of the CSF, a seven-student oversight committee will be put in place. Voting members will include one ASUW Senate appointment, three ASUW Board appointments, two GPSS Senate appointments, and one appointment from the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee (ESAC). Non-student, non-voting members will include one appointment each from the Faculty Senate, Facilities Services, and the provost’s office.

Claudia Frere, manager of the Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability, told the 20-or-so people in attendance at Tuesday’s celebration that the real work begins with the creation of the oversight committee.

“We are impressed and inspired by the passing of this fund,” Frere said. “Clearly, there’s a deep commitment to support sustainability on campus.”

During the campaign, CSF received 97 proposals at an estimated budget of $4,332,400. Member Alan Wright said at least 41 proposals came from students, while many of the others were sent in by UW faculty and staff. Wright noted these were only preliminary ideas and that they will not take priority in funding. He said projects will be evaluated on student leadership and involvement, environmental impact, behavioral change and educational components, as well as feasibility and accountability.

“All projects will be graded on that rubric,” Wright said. “If it scores high in those categories, it will be a project that will take priority for funding. So there’s not a specific delineation between faculty and students, it’s just that all projects are evaluated on their student involvement.”

Some current proposals are a large campus farm, a coordinator network in residence halls where undergraduates would be paid to educate peers about sustainability, and renewable-energy installations, such as solar panels in Red Square. Other ideas include covered bike racks, digital textbooks and a solar-filtration system for Drumheller Fountain.

“These are lasting legacies,” said Sandra Archibald, dean of the Evans School of Public Affairs, referring to the proposals.

Archibald applauded the CSF’s accomplishment in the current economic climate and its integration of students.

“All of you have shown exemplary leadership,” she said.

Katie Stultz, a CSF member and sophomore majoring in political science and geography, said the group first looked at sustainability models on other college campuses to create a student-controlled fund. Stultz pointed to The Green Initiative Fund, which operates on six University of California campuses, as a starting point.

Other sustainability funds exist at upwards of 90 collegiate institutions, and on campuses in the state, including The Evergreen State College and Western Washington University. Their yearly budgets are around $200,000, Stultz said. With a budget exceeding that, the CSF believes the UW will have among the largest sustainability funds in the nation.

Reach reporter Bryden McGrath at news@dailyuw.com.