The student body will vote on whether or not to support a campus-wide sustainability fund which would cost students $25 per year and would provide campus-wide recycling.

The Students’ Association passed a resolution tonight which allowed for the vote to happen. If passed, SA would petition the university administration to implement the proposal. The proposal provides for a $25 fee charged to all students, but recipients of Pell Grants can appeal the fee, according to an SA document prepared by Dr. Joshua Brokaw, assistant professor of biology.

SA used gathered student opinions about sustainability through a survey sent to the student body last semester. Eighty-one percent of students agreed or strongly agreed that recycling should be available in every building on campus.

“I have been encouraged by the wide scope of involvement that we have had in preparing for the Genesis Fund,” said Abbey Moses, SA president. “The demand for sustainability at ACU is coming from a diverse group of people and I think that the unity showed is telling of the need for the fund.”

Called the Genesis Fund, the fund would provide for a recycling program maintained by Facilitates and Campus Management. A sustainability council including three students, three staff members, three faculty members and one facilities representative would allocate the funds to any other sustainability measures supported by the Genesis Fund. Other initiatives could include supplies for sustainability related service activities by student organizations such as recycling or clean-up outreach campaigns, solar panels or sustainability enhancement projects by campus offices to engage students such as water stations that encourage reusable bottles. 

SA will send a link for voting tomorrow morning.