The Traveler

Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Veronica Pucci Sophmore Myssy Green gets lunch from Mama Leone's in the Arkansas Union Friday. Mama Leone's has begun using biodgradable containers for its baked pastas.

The UA has become more environmentally conscious, and though students said they are impressed, they have some advice on how the campus could improve.

The university received a B minus on the 2009 College Sustainability Report Card, which is an in-depth analysis on the "green" profiles of hundreds of colleges in the U.S. and Canada.

The B minus was an improvement from the D received in 2007, placing the university in the top 38 percent of the 300 schools surveyed. Among Southeastern Conference schools, the UA was ranked second behind the University of Florida.

"I'm impressed that we went from a D to a B minus in two years," said Robby Rorie, a 24-year-old graduate student studying crop soil and environmental sciences.

Rorie said he has several ideas on how the UA could improve on its sustainability score.

"I would like to see wind power used around campus," Rorie said.

Wind power is the fastest-growing alternative energy source on the planet, according to the Earth Policy Institute, a private organization devoted to creating a more sustainable economy.

Senior Jared Jackson said he thinks the UA's focus on going green says a lot about the times.

"Being green has almost become a trend, and people are getting better at it," he said.

Although the UA received a B on the food and recycling portion of the report card, some students said the score could be an A in the future.

"Recycling is the easiest way for students help the campus as a whole. We can't do much about alternative fuels," senior Christopher Thrailkill said.

Recycling is a student-centered task, Thrailkill said.

"People don't recycle as much as they should," Jackson said.

Junior Lauren Reeves said the UA needs more recycling bins in order to better its score.

"People don't have enough time to carry all their trash to the union," Reeves said, referring to the few locations of recycling bins on campus.

The UA has begun to offer more organic food choices in campus dining halls, according to the sustainability report. However, some students seem to have low opinions of organic food.

Continued...

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