Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Abby Harvey Davies Center is one of the many buildings and facilities on campus that would benefit from a "green initiative" account. An online referendum for students to decide will be held Thursday.

Students will decide Thursday if they want to pay $10 each semester to fund a multi-thousand dollar "green initiatives" account.

The account, which will cost each student $20 per year if approved, will provide the university with more than $200,000 each year to fund various student-faculty environmental research projects and various other green initiatives on campus. A committee of students, faculty and administrators will control the account and divvy out money for the projects, with oversight of the committee coming from Student Senate.

Students will vote in an online referendum Thursday to either approve or knock down the account. If students approve, the issue will go to the UW System Board of Regents in Madison for approval.

"I'm confident that it will pass because of the student support and how students have ranked sustainability and environmentalism as something that is a big concern to them," said senior Michael Umhoefer, Senate Treasurer and Chief of Staff.

A survey conducted by Senate last semester showed a majority of students thought environmental issues were important, though students were split when asked if they supported raising fees to fund green initiatives. The survey gathered responses from 768 participants, 734 who were students at the time.

Of the 570 people who responded to a survey question asking how important environmental issues were to them, nearly 83 percent said environmental issues were "very important" or "important."

However, only 53 percent of 572 respondents said they supported "raising fees to make the campus more environmentally friendly." Forty-seven percent were against raising fees, and nearly 200 people did not respond to the question.

Senate voted 27-1-1 on Oct. 20 to allow students to vote on the referendum. Sen. Jacob Kampen, the only dissenting senator, said he opposed the bill for several reasons.

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