Eye on Auraria

The campus is getting cleaned up, and Eye don't mean by washing. The Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board is committed to clean energy and they're really pushing it. For those of you who weren't here or don't remember, the student body of Auraria passed a $1 per student, per semester fee for clean energy ("Oh…that's what that fee is!"). The fee was used to purchase clean energy for the campus. Half the money was used to purchase wind energy to power the campus, putting Auraria first in the state and 14th in the country for higher education institutions using renewable energy. The rest of the money collected from the fee was spent on solar lighting projects around the campus, projects that are being installed this semester.

And their hard work hasn't gone unnoticed. "With this commitment, Auraria Campus students have clearly demonstrated their steadfast support of sustainability. We applaud Auraria for pursuing renewable energy opportunities and setting a positive example we hope others in our community will follow," said our own Mayor Hickenlooper. Graduate School of Public Affairs professor Gary Hart had this to say: "The renewable energy purchase by students at the Auraria campus is a great example of the power of our youth today to help direct a stronger, cleaner and more secure energy economy. Hope for the future is extraordinarily evident in this student-led action."

Last year, SACAB assessed student interest in sustainable energy by conducting a series of surveys asking students how they felt about sustainable energy. According to the 529 people surveyed, only a little over half were even aware of the fee, but almost all, 93.4 percent, would support a renewal of the fee. More importantly, most of those surveyed, 89.7 percent, would support an increase in the fee, with most willing to pay a $5 fee. With the increased fee, which would have to go to a student vote before being implemented, SACAB would continue its commitment to clean energy by increasing the renewable energy programs on campus, increasing the energy efficiency of campus buildings, increasing recycling on campus, reducing the water usage on campus and promoting these programs through education and marketing.

If you want more information about the clean energy work SACAB has been doing, check out their Web site at www.tivoli.org/sacab.

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