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A new fee at Western Michigan University would give undergraduates a direct role in funding campus sustainability projects and making more student projects affordable, depending on how students vote on a Sustainability Fund Initiative referendum this week.

If passed, students with a plan for a green renovation project could request money from the fund to finance the idea. The money would come straight from a new fee from those on the main campus and any student could potentially use it, said graduate student Matt Hollander.

“We are currently on the radar for sustainability nationwide,” said Hollander, who works for the President’s University-wide Sustainability Committee. “This could get us close to the top.”
Green fees are increasingly popular amongst student bodies that want to become leaders in sustainability. WMU would join the ranks of both public and private colleges and universities whose students are successfully using pooled money to renovate buildings, distribute efficient light bulbs, and offer community education on sustainable living practices.

The fund at WMU, which is expected to raise up to $500,000 per year, would be generated by an $8 fee each semester. During the summer, the price would be cut in half to $4 for each summer session.

Money from the fund would be split to pay for different sectors within the initiative, with 65 percent going toward student projects, 20 percent going toward setting up a new Office of Sustainability and 15 percent to pay for 10 part-time student jobs.

Students who want to apply for money from the fund would need a faculty advisor for the project, said Hollander. After getting an advisor, applicants would submit a full budget to a WSA President-appointed committee for approval and revisions. The final funding decision would come from the Sustainability Fund Allocation Committee.

Though individual projects have no funding limit, two-thirds of the committee will have to approve a budget if the cost is over 15 percent of the funding available for that semester.

The fund may not be able to cover more expensive projects like large solar panels or wind turbines.

The new fee would join two other campus-wide fees. The Student Assessment Fee is $21 and the Enrollment Fee, which helps to pay for recreation and technology, is $343.

Even if the fee does not pass referendum, administrators would like to use about $200,000 to create the new Office of Sustainability.

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