Seven groups of Western students have presented their proposals for projects funded by the Green Energy Fee Program.
Jamin Agosti, vice president for Student Life and chair of the committee that will decide who receives funding, said the $300,000 will be given to whatever project or projects seem like the best fit and most feasible for Western.
Agosti said the money could go to various proposals out of the seven that were submitted, even all of them if the committee thinks it is the best way to allocate the funds.
The program was created last April when Western approved a fee that would gather $300,000 to fund student-driven projects that would create a sustainable campus, according to Western’s Office of Sustainability website.
Students presented their proposals to a committee which includes Agosti, the chair of the committee, two students, two faculty members and one staff member.
Applications for the proposal were accepted from mid-January through April 18, Agosti said.
Agosti said the proposal process was hard for students because they had to figure out every aspect of the project including city permits, costs and logistics of how the project will be implemented on campus.
Hundreds of students came forward with ideas for the money, Agosti said. But he said unfortunately many of the ideas fell through during the proposal process.
Paper towel composting, proposed by Greg Meyer, would modify trash cans in Haggard Hall to only collect organic waste, according to Western’s Office of Sustainability website. The student had to work with the staff unions to inform them of the potential composting system, Agosti said.
Over the summer he created the “Green Energy Fee rules of operation,” which is a four page document outlining the mission of the fee, guidelines of the projects and preferences of how the fee should be used.
There are three main criteria proposed projects should establish. The projects should increase student involvement and education, reduce Western’s environmental impact and create an engaged campus, Agosti said.
Western sophomore Bodie Cabiyo, who proposed a Dyson hand dryer installation, said the program is largely unprecedented with the amount of student involvement on the projects.
Agosti said the committee plans on releasing the chosen proposal within the next two or three weeks.
