Reading this article caught my attention and kept it throughout the entire article. This would be a good read to go along with the research that my group members and I are doing for the Green Energy Fund.
According to the article, there were survey results that were conducted by the higher education consulting firms, like Noel-Levitz, and by organizations representing interests of physical plant administrators. Their results show that students are now starting to consider the conditions of a school in their decision factor for college. These students are paying more attention now to the trend of “Going Green” and looking into the condition of these campus facilities that they may be considering.
This point that this article made struck my attention and made me want to know more. This is because I felt that my group can relate this to the students of Florida A&M University that we will be informing about the Green Energy Fund.
This article can be used as useful information to the other groups of our class by giving them an insight on what other schools do to promote sustainability and why.
One of the questions that the author of this article, Jason Kovac, poses is, “Why focus on building green as part of your college's commitment to sustainability?” He responded that according to Paulo Freire’s idea about designing a school, "Attention should go into every detail of the school space. ... By making clear that the educational space is valuable, the administration is able to demand the due respect from learners" (Kovac,1998, p. 97).
This statement is something that my group members and I can put some thought into because it gives us a different angle to look at why students should consider voting for the Green Energy Fund.
An example that this article gave was that at St. Louis Community College in Wildwood, Mo. They put guilt in the students when it comes to throwing trash away. They do this by building awareness that they are in a green building. Students have even put stickers that read “Land Fill” so that students become aware that whatever they throw out will end up in a land fill.
This can be a good idea that my group can incorporate into building awareness among our assigned students.
Kovac, J. (Sep. 2011). Campuses can take the LEED in going green. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 28 (15), 22. Retrieved October 18, 2011, from Research Library. (doi: 2452230761).
To read the full article please click on the link below.
