Home »University Sustainability Committee »2021

March 30, 2021

Date/Time
Tuesday, 03/30/2021
Location
Online
Submitted By:
Alicen Flosi

LU Sustainability Committee

March 30, 2021 - TEAMS

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Introductions:

Taliah Belcher, Alicen Flosi, Dimples Jones, Marc Paine, Jennifer Ravey

Updates:

  • Recycling – Since Waste Management closed the facility over a year ago, Lamar has not been recycling on campus. Alicen presented a proposal for a small amount of recycling to be picked up by Recyclops, but budget restraints prohibit it at this time so the request was denied.  Since many in the Lamar community want to recycle, the committee will revisit the topic when the financial crunch is over. 
  • Garden Workday – Volunteers from Lamar and the neighboring community will be working at the SouthPark Community Garden April 10th, from 10:00 am until 1:30 or 2:00 pm. The garden is at the corner of Jimmy Simmons and Vermont Streets (655 Vermont).  Students can sign up to help at the Big Event to receive breakfast and some gift items at 9:00 a.m. in the Set.  Everyone is welcome to just show up at the garden after 10:00 to volunteer.  Pastor Kennedy Andrews from Harvest for Lost Souls will bring additional volunteers and provide lunch. 
  • Earth Day – Earth Week will be celebrated the week of April 19th -23rd. The following ‘events’ are planned:
    • Meatless Monday – encourage the LU community to give up meat at least one day a week
    • Event in front of Dining Hall , Thursday, April 22, 10:00 – 1:30.
      • LU Green Squad will be handing out t-shirts.
      • SGA and Green Squad will ask students to sign the petition*.
      • Student Services will have a table, perhaps decorating pots or planting seeds
      • Chartwells will have a table, specifics not determined yet
    • Encourage LU community to watch ‘sustainability’ movies, such as Kiss the Ground on Netflix
    • Encourage LU community to read ‘sustainability’ books, such as How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates and The Big Ones by Dr. Lucy Jones

Once the list is finalized, advertising will be added to the Monday Update and a few posters will be placed at the residence halls and a few other locations on campus.

  • Department sustainability Program – Two departments have earned a Green Badge – the Writing Center and the Construction Management Department. We will add an additional section to give employees credit for other sustainable activities that aren’t on the list.  Committee members will continue to encourage other departments/organizations to participate.  
  • SGA Petition – Taliah reported that the SGA will begin distributing the following petition for signatures. Jennifer Ravey and Taliah will develop an online survey, and get necessary approval.  The survey/petition will be distributed digitally and we will have hard-copies for students to sign during Earth Day. 

Why sustainability? Our region has been heavily impacted by an increase in severe natural disasters in recent years. Energy costs are high, and disruptions can cause major issues for all of us.   

Lamar University has an opportunity to join other universities across the world in committing to making changes to become "net-zero" - to remove as much carbon waste as we create - over the next decade. We plan to start small by reinstating recycling across campus and banning single-use plastics.   

Please sign our petition and join us in our commitment to make LU a leader in sustainability.   

Make LU sustainable by reinstating recycling across campus, banning single-use plastics on campus, and using clean energy to become net-zero by 2035.   

  • Campus Cleanup – We might have a campus cleanup, but to determine if it is necessary, Alicen will talk to Corey Kirkland and Pastor Kennedy to see if there is a need on campus or in the neighboring community. Since there are fewer people on campus at the moment, staff seem to be able to keep up with the litter. 
  • Tree Planting – Alicen will check on the possibility of planting a tree or two for Arbor Day, Friday, April 30th. 
  • Library Printers – Jennifer will talk to Michael Saar with the Library to see if any progress has been made on eliminating the cover sheets, setting printers for double-sided printing, using recycled paper, charging for all copies, and using/teaching research software to reduce printing. 
  • Aluminum recycling – An Engineering professor and some of his students are building an aluminum recycler. Once they are ready, we will help them by setting up some collection sites on campus. 

Meeting adjourned.