The Metropolitan State College of Denver Board of Trustees met Sept. 5 and made the final decision that will put into place a Sustainable Campus Program starting spring semester 2008.
On Aug. 25 and 26, students from all three Auraria colleges voted to expand an already existing clean energy fee of one dollar a semester (initiated in 2004) to a gradual increase in student fees to be paid for the next five years. The fee will start at $3 a semester and increase one dollar a year, until it caps at $5. According to the SACAB press release following the final decision, this was the fourth largest voter turnout in the history of the campus and an overwhelming 96% of students voted yes on the program. SACAB also released voter information last spring, which included data on the current program and its benefits. The green power that has already been purchased by the campus over the last three years offsets approximately 35,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year, the equivalent of taking 6,200 cars off the road, or saving 9,600 trees.
The boards of both the Community College of Denver and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center approved the initiative this summer, and the decision by Metro put the vote of the students into official effect. Asked how it was to have last semester's hard work come to a successful end, former CEP chair Shaun Lally replied, "This has been more than just a semester of work; this has taken over two years."
The new program will include wind and solar power purchases, a comprehensive campus recycling program, increased energy efficiency in campus buildings, a reduction in per capita water use on campus, and an educational program.
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