Grass topped roofs. Energy efficient appliances. Suite-style rooms. These are just some of the features nearly 400 incoming freshmen have access to at their new five-story eco-friendly residence hall at Loyola College in Maryland.
The 10,000 square foot building consists of reclaimed or locally produced materials, including steel beams made from 90 percent scrap metal and bricks from a factory 35 miles away in Pennsylvania.
The residence hall also utilizes 20,000 square feet of planted grass on the roof to increase water retention and reduce heat absorption and turn to a geothermal heating and cooling system, according to a press release.
Besides making use of natural sunlight, the Loyola residence hall is fitted with low-flow toilets and showers to cut down on the amount of water used.
With the addition of this new residence hall, Loyola College joins a growing list of universities nationwide, including Connecticut College, Tufts University, Emory University and Pitzer College, that are making the transition to building or renovating environmentally friendly residence halls.
While these schools integrate and complete such large environmental endeavors, what is in Fairfield’s future?
“The only definitive building plans that Fairfield currently has are the plans for the new Jesuit Community Center, which has many green and environmentally friendly design qualities,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Mark Reed in an e-mail.
The University is, however, undergoing a “greening” process, which includes the reduction of 250 tons of trash per month during the academic year and saving 19 million gallons of water with water-saving plumbing techniques, according to the fall 2007 cover story in “Fairfield Now.”
Student organizations such as the Student Environmental Association, or SEA, are working diligently on campaigns to provoke student awareness in hopes of making the campus as green and sustainable as possible.
“I almost feel as though it is better to do things that way because we are progressively moving everyone towards the same goal at the same time, rather than having just one energy-efficient living facility,” said Brianna Bundenthal ’08, vice president of SEA and a student member of the Environmental Steering Committee.
Starting in October, SEA will be participating in the Energy Star “Change a Light” campaign, which provides members of the University community the opportunity to fill out cards pledging that they will change a regular light bulb to a compact fluorescent light bulb, or CFL.
Bundenthal suggests that students and faculty will learn that a CFL not only save money, but use “two-thirds less energy than regular light bulbs and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.”
Both students and faculty alike see the importance of providing campus-wide initiatives in order to promote student environmental participation.
“Our efforts thus far have been OK, but until the student body and everyone else who uses this campus really dedicates itself to the idea of eco-friendly living, we will not be able to have the impact we could,” said Alexandra Deitz ’08, an RA in Dolan.
“Some colleges have pledged to become carbon-neutral within the next twenty years or fewer. This may seem like a huge undertaking, but there is no harm in aiming for the moon,” she said.
Dina Franceschi, associate professor of economics and co-director of environmental studies, said, “The first step is to get students to recycle.”
Bundenthal agrees that student involvement in recycling and other “green” activities is vital before moving forward with additional plans.
“The changes will happen; it’s just going to take some time and a continued effort on the part of students,” said Bundenthal. “The more they want it and are willing to do their part, the quicker and easier this whole movement will occur.”
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