PHOTO | Tara Espinoza
Staying green is a vital part of Tech’s culture. Colloquially known as “A ‘Tree’ U,” due to the massive number of trees on campus, there is no denying that Arkansas college campuses are eco-friendly, especially in the frame of the southern U.S.
Despite undeniably being a green campus, The Arka Tech Editorial Board is calling upon students to express their desire for an even greener campus and to do their part to keep the university sustainable.
The university has made several leaps and bounds in terms of eco-sustainability. In recent history, Tech has converted every light to LED, switched from HVAC heating and cooling to digital in many buildings and dorm halls, and made recycling readily available in all areas around campus.
All this in total saves Tech upwards of half a million dollars a year. Despite these pushes, we believe there is still a long way to go.
The Arka Tech Editorial Board does not think this is a lack of trying for either party. We understand budgeting has been tricky in the wake of the pandemic and that students have tests and other things to worry about.
We believe a good first step in this solution is to create a habit of recycling among all students.
This can be done by educating incoming first-year students about Tech’s eco-friendly ideologies in orientation classes. Planting the seed early within students would allow them to spend their college years doing what they can to save the environment while creating a green campus culture.
In a classroom setting, this could look like explaining where recycle bins are, expressing to students the importance of turning off or unplugging electrical appliances when not in use, and urging students to keep the air conditioning up in the summer and down in the winter if they are not in the room.
We also understand that the prospects of recycling are expensive. It actively costs the university money to transport recycling. We feel that if everyone did their part, however, it would mitigate the costs significantly.
We believe a campus cultural shift towards sustainability is the paramount objective. If the student body expresses the importance of a green campus, resources will be allocated to allow for it.
