Even if You’re Green, Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees

Dear Drake Community,
I want to begin by thanking all of the students who came to last week’s Student Senate meeting and last night’s Sustainability Town Hall meeting to express their thoughts and opinions on the importance of recycling. Student Senate relies on student feedback to pursue the projects and programs our campus needs most, and it is essential that students continue to let their voices be heard.
At our meeting on Oct. 29, Student Senate voted on a motion calling for the use of a portion of the Student Senate reserve fund to purchase eight recycling bins at a total price of $2,247.04. After much discussion, Student Senate did not pass this motion.
While Student Senate continues to support the university’s efforts in recycling and the “Blue is Green” initiative, we could not justify using money from Student Activity Fees to fund the university’s capital improvements. These projects should remain part of the university’s obligations and should be paid for through the university’s budget.
I am confident that the Drake administration will continue to expand the single-stream recycling solution on the Drake campus, providing additional recycling bins to meet our needs. I commend the university’s initiatives thus far, however, I pledge to advocate and pressure the administration should this not be completed in a timely manner.
Everyone is in favor of a greener Drake, including Student Senate. We must now find the right outlets for our passion, and ways for our entire campus to embrace sustainable changes at Drake University. I encourage all Drake students to continue to advocate for recycling; your opinions are being heard and Student Senate is taking action.
As always, please contact me with questions, comments or concerns.
– BEN OLSON
Student Body President

To My Student Senate,
On Thursday night, I attended my first Student Senate meeting to personally let my Senate know that I, as a student aofDrake University, and many other students like myself, would very much like you to spend our money on purchasing a few new recycling bins so that we may have the ability to recycle in our academic buildings. I entered the room on Thursday with the idea that this seemed like a reasonable request to ask the so-called governing body here to represent me. But when we asked, you said, “No,” and we left the room with a bitter taste in our mouths and the feeling that you may have heard us, but you did not listen to what we had to say.
From what I gathered, senate told us three things:
1. That you all apparently love the earth very much, and that’s great! But not why 38 of us showed up that night. Sorry.
2. That you don’t think spending our money on things we want, like recycling bins, is in our best interest.
3. That this is someone else’s problem to take care of and not ours (I say ours because, from my understanding, Student Senate is a representation of the entire student body, and this is a problem of the student body, and I don’t think I’m mistaken).
While I respect your opinions on the matter, I disagree with your decision and the reasoning you explained behind it. Student Senate took this issue, which was as simple as, “We want and need recycling bins – will you buy them for us?” and turned it into a debate over unrelated topics of money, politics, scope and who loves the earth the most. I was confused because I don’t think you understood why we were there. Senate ignored what we had to say, and it seemed to me that they already knew how they were going to vote before the meeting even started, so our cries to be heard fell on deaf ears from the start. I don’t know what else to say, so I’ll end this letter by saying how, as a student, an athlete, a member of an organization on campus and as someone who is actively involved in trying to make a difference at Drake, I am just disappointed in my Student Senate’s inability to not only act on important issues, but even hear their student body out when we come to them.
Student Senate could accomplish so many great things and make a huge positive change if you could all just get your acts together and actually listen to what we have to say, find out our problems and work with us to solve them. You’re Student Senate. You decide what your scope is. If your scope doesn’t include using the money and influence you possess to solve our problems, then that’s just a crying shame. But I guess that’s just the way it is.
– MATTHEW JURYSTA
Sophomore

Student Senate,
I came to your last meeting in order to support my friends, trying to convince you to use a little over two grand of your surplus reserve fund to buy the students of Drake a few more recycling bins to let us recycle more easily on campus. Then you told us it’s not your problem and it would be a misuse of student money? I’ll have to disagree there. What is a good use of our money? A table manners dinner? A printer we still have to pay to use? If recycling bins aren’t your problem, then how and why are those? Also, all of the parliamentary procedure and political jargon wasn’t really appreciated, because I feel like the lot of us in the back were being ignored as the senators educated us on their opinions without really letting us state our two cents. If my Senate doesn’t think that spending our money on things the students at Drake want, then I don’t think Student Senate represents me.
– ANONYMOUS

On the evening of Thursday, Oct. 29, I attended a Student Senate meeting that I will never forget. Because, for the first time in my politically active career, I saw a group of my peers destroy a motion that could have fundamentally changed Drake politics forever. On this rainy evening members of Drake Environmental Action League, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Sports Business Association came together to support a motion for environmental action. This motion would allow for eight additional recycling bins (on top of the existing twelve) to be purchased with students’ money, from a $35,000 reserve fund, for the purpose of advancing Drake’s responsible recycling policy set forth by “Blue is Green.” The total cost of these bins equaled $2,500. Yet, the Senate felt that the issue was not substantial enough to vote in favor of it. Instead, the majority of 09-10 senators, after hearing concerns from 20-plus campus leaders representing over 400 students, decided to turn a blind eye and pursue a vote of negligence. The vote pierced like an icy spear through our hearts as the sound of “nays” resonated from the senators’ mouths. The key arguments against the motions were:
1) Student Senate should not take a position on something that facilities should be responsible for.
2) Student Senate won’t take from the $35,000 reserve fund to pay for $2,500 recycling bins.
The problems with these arguments are obvious. Earlier that evening, the Student Senate dipped into the fund to pay for a senior dinner that teaches graduating seniors etiquette. Yet, they can’t afford to pay for recycling bins affecting the entire student population as well as the world community. What I heard that meeting was, “We can teach etiquette for proper consumption, but not fund recycling.” So, the question comes to mind. Where exactly does Student Senate take a stand for us (the student population)? Many of us were represented in that meeting, but none of us were heard. Why exactly do we have student fees if we never see them reflected in campus improvement and activities? I, along with many other students, wonder, exactly what does Student Senate do? Because, they obviously don’t respond to our heartfelt cries for responsible recycling or pass fundamentally powerful legislation. I want Student Senate to take a stand. I want them to realize that they represent us. They are the leaders of our great campus, but, sadly, many of them have lost sight of their responsibilities. I have come to the end of my rope. If Student Senate won’t act, we, the unofficial leaders, will take the lead. This issue won’t die.
Please help us get the message out.
– ZAC BALES-HENRY
Senior

Dear Times-Delphic,
It’s completely ironic Student Senate decided to turn down an action that would help move toward a more sustainable and impressive environment at Drake University during their “Sustainability Meeting” on Thursday, Oct. 29. I was one of the many students that attended the Senate meeting to show support for adding 12 new recycling bins throughout the campus. This would only be $2,500 of Student Senate’s $35,000 backup budget, but they completely shot it down and wouldn’t listen to the voice of their fellow students who are paying student fees and deserve opportunities. I am disappointed that Student Senate would dismiss this need for more recycling on campus, but will throw away thousands of dollars for a new printer and an etiquette dinner during their so-called “Sustainability Meeting.” What a completely unethical decision on their behalf. Student Senate definitely gave me a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve heard many stories of how stingy and greedy Student Senate is, but it became evident tonight. They kept saying they are not a pot of money to hand out to people. But the huge amounts of money that Student Senate has didn’t just fall from the sky. This is the student’s money, so they should do something good with it! Not having the amount of recycling that there should be on campus also makes Drake University bad as a whole. How do we promote “Blue is Green” on campus if our students aren’t even given the opportunity to recycle? And, what will it take to get our voice out to Student Senate without them denying our needs as students? These are all questions that linger in my mind as I think about the two hours of my Thursday night that Student Senate wasted, just to deny paying for a few recycling bins throughout our campus. So please, let’s all let Student Senate know that something needs to change, because the students at Drake University are not impressed.
– TIMOTHY KOJETIN
Sophomore

It was interesting, if disappointing, to listen to the Student Senate discuss and vote on a motion to approve $2,200 for eight more recycling bins in academic buildings. The Student Senate’s reserve fund (excess student fees) usually holds $15,000 for emergencies, but the account held over $35,000 on Thursday. Given the excess, and the campus green initiative, it seemed the vote would be a no-brainer. Not so, as the motion was overwhelmingly defeated. Since the Drake administration has paid for most of the recycling bins on campus thus far, the Senate argued the administration should be picking up the tab for the extra recycling bins, not the Senate. Doing so might set an unintended precedent for future Senate spending. Point well taken, but it seems to me the Senate missed the bigger picture. The 30+ supportive students in attendance were there to send a message to our elected leaders: We want to spend our own money (i.e. our student fees) in support of recycling and the environment – in addition to what the administration contributes. Since the meeting, the administration has stepped up with the funding for the recycling bins. Members of the senate all expressed their support for recycling and the green initiative at the meeting, and said they would do more in the future, regardless of their decision on this particular motion. I hope the Senate will live up to their promise to show their support for recycling and the environment in a more proactive way in the future.
– COURTNEY HOWELL
First-Year Student

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