With Residential Life’s sixth annual UNPLUG contest approaching, students hold varying opinions on going green as individuals and as a community.
UNPLUG encourages students to conserve energy and live green, said Maylen Aldana, Residential Life associate director for Student Success and Assessment. The contest, which takes place from March 24 to April 11, will pit residence halls and apartment complexes — West Campus Apartments and East Campus Apartments — against one another to see which one can reduce its energy bill the most. The winning residence hall and apartment complex is rewarded with a party for its occupants.
Aldana said results are obtained through readings of electricity and water usage performed by Facility Services. The residence hall and apartment complex that reduces the highest percentage of overall energy are deemed winners.
The contest has proven to reduce a generous amount of energy, Aldana said. In 2009, there was an 18 percent decrease in energy usage in participating residence halls and apartments.
Some say this number could be higher.
Because of its size, the University could easily reduce vast amounts of energy in a short period of time, said Emily Edens, biology junior. This could be done if everyone on campus is willing to participate.
Aside from reducing energy on campus, Aldana said UNPLUG hopes to instill in students a desire to continue conserving energy beyond the contest.
“Sustainibility is one of our goals in ResLife. We want students to live green,” Aldana said.
To capitalize on this message, ResLife urged students to pledge to live green in The 5 and The 459 dining halls, she said.
Though ResLife promotes green living, students have varying ideas about the issue.
Aimee Turner, anthropology freshmen, said conserving energy on a daily basis is “out of sight, out of mind.”
“Energy is something I don’t really think about because there is just so much going on from day to day,” Turner said.
Kynon Ardoin II, biology freshmen, said although he unplugs his coffee machine when it’s not in use, he and many other students don’t worry about reducing energy because they are not directly paying for it. All energy has been paid for in advance through student fee bills, he said.
Other students are more concerned about energy use on campus.
Michelle Franco, kinesiology junior, said she conserves energy by unplugging appliances and turning off lights when she leaves.
“I don’t think about it all the time, but it’s very important,” Franco said.