Western Michigan University Students have volunteered to pay for something important to them: a campus culture focused on sustainability.
Students led the way, asking for a referendum and then voting to approve a new $8 per-semester fee.
The fee will generate an estimated $440,000 annually. It will be used to fund student-designed and student-led sustainability initiatives. It also will support a Sustainability Office, a green jobs program for students and student research.
Details and logistics for distributing the funds have not yet been determined.
To decide the best way to allocate the funds, a committee made up primarily of students will work with the President John Dunn's University-wide Sustainability Committee and Diane Anderson, the vice president for student affairs.
The fee referendum appeared on a ballot in a March 15-19 general election sponsored by the school's elected student government organization, Western Student Association.
Of those voting, 60 percent -- 1,002 students -- supported the fee, while 40 percent -- 662 students -- opposed it.
Western Michigan University trustees have now gone on to give final approval.
Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Cheryl Roland, WMU
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