siuDE.com

SIUC may soon be doing its part to reduce global warming contributions, but the proposal could increase student fees.

The Student Environmental Center, with members of Plant and Service Operations, has drafted a proposal to address global warming at the university. Project Eco-Dawgs, according to the proposal, aims at forming a "Sustainability Council" and establishing new fees for research and projects in renewable energy.

If the project is implemented, students could face an additional fee of 83 cents per credit hour for up to 12 semester hours. According to the proposal, this averages to $10 per student per semester and would accumulate over $300,000 per year.

Megan Pulliam, a senior from Chatham studying Spanish, said the fee would only be implemented if it has student support. There will be a campus-wide student vote in April on the proposed fee.

"I'm confident that students will show concern for the environment," said Pulliam, who is also the campus's representative on the Board of Trustees.

Pulliam said if the students don't support it, the fee will be taken out of the proposal. Each part of the proposal is independent, Pulliam said, so even without the fees, a sustainability council could still be formed. Pulliam said the group is hoping to create the council by July.

But students aren't the only ones asked to contribute. Jon Dyer, a sophomore from Edwardsville studying geography and environmental resources, said if the student fees are supported, the faculty and staff would be asked to support an employee green fee.

"We're at a crossroads," Dyer said. "We're all in this together."

Pulliam said the proposal was reviewed by SIUC President Glenn Poshard Monday. Although Poshard would not be in charge of implementing the project, Pulliam said he expressed interest in it a couple of months ago.

Dyer said Poshard suggested the proposal be presented to the Board of Trustees in April, after the student referendum. If students support the proposed fee, Dyer said it would possibly be implemented in fall 2008.

Chancellor Fernando Treviño said the university supports the project, but has some concerns to be addressed before any decision is made. The Physical Plant has already taken some measures toward making the university environmentally sound, he said.

"Obviously, we want to be ecologically friendly," Treviño said.

It's a long process to make a final decision on the issue, Treviño said, but ultimately the decision will not be left up to him, but the Board of Trustees.

Whether or not the green fees pass, Dyer said the main purpose of Project Eco-Dawgs is to develop a plan to reduce carbon emissions and achieve climate neutrality.

"Regardless of (the fees), we need a long-term climate action plan," Dyer said. "This is an issue of our generation."

Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 270 or mleroux@siu.edu.

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