Are We Wasting College Money?

To the Editors:

Today as I was walking home along my usual trodden path from south to north campus freezing my very behind off, I looked in perplexity at the countless number of windows open in every dorm. I personally could assert that I have had mine open everyday since I arrived, even whilst it was snowing. Arriving at my room just after sunset, I flipped on my light and a brilliant flash dazzled me followed by complete darkness. I asked my RA for a new bulb and was handed a traditional incandescent bulb. What’s wrong with this you ask in bewilderment????? First, the college is apparently profusely wasting energy and fossil fuels.
Second, my tuition is obviously paying for it. The College needs take a stance of climate neutrality and establish a comprehensive policy on climate change. They would join the ranks of many fellow institutions like Middlebury, Lewis & Clark, and Tufts who already have taken strong stances. Even large less-progressive schools like Penn State are buyers of green power and have established official policies striving towards climate neutrality. Climate neutrality means taking steps that make the college free from the release of greenhouse gases on and off campus. The effects of climate change have already had far reaching social and economic impacts and these effects will only continue to worsen. As an academic community, it is deplorable that we ignore this. We must use our collective knowledge to expand the teachings of the classroom to the campus and the world. A climate neutral policy would need to include many things. A first and obvious step would be to stop overheating the dorms. This would not only save the earth from the release of greenhouse gases, but also serve to save money. Additionally, for the time being, the college could purchase green power from the grid. Next, the college would have to phase out its use of the huge coal power plant they use to heat the school. Solar arrays on the rooftops of the dorms could compensate for the plant. The college needs to make every building be green, not just the Lewis Center. Every human and human-made object is a member of the environment. As a member, one needs to protect that environment if one wishes to endure and be sustained. The college needs to reflect this reality. I urge the Oberlin College and its community to support and implement a climate neutral policy.

–Brandi Eng-Rohrbach
College first-year