Sustain Mizzou donates to MU student center

The donation might be used for signage.

By Erica Zucco

Published Jan. 25, 2008

The new MU student center will include more space for student offices, new restaurants and takeout options and, because of Sustain Mizzou's $3,000 donation and work with the administration, what some say will be a more environmentally conscious atmosphere.

"Green building is becoming a big issue," Sustain Mizzou President Ben Datema said. "Putting money into the student center is a good way to move toward sustainability; it can be a very visible thing that has a long-lasting impact."

Sustain Mizzou is a student organization that promotes an environmentally sustainable way of life at MU. As part of this goal, the group organizes Tiger Tailgate Recycling and a local food drive, sells recycled notebooks, participates in the nationwide Recyclemania competition and produces Footprint, a newsletter about sustainability.

Money generated from some of these projects goes toward the donation Sustain Mizzou's donation to the student center.

Former Sustain Mizzou President Adam Saunders said the group receives grants from the MU Parents Association and raises money by revamping and selling used notebooks, cereal boxes and half-used computer paper.

The group also applies for funding through the Organization Resource Group.

Datema said most of the money for the donation came from the Tiger Tailgate Recycling project.

"We received a donation from Anheuser-Busch in fall of 2005," Datema said. "They're our main sponsor for that project. We earmarked $3,000 of that money, and decided that the new student center would be a good investment."

Datema said the money might not be used to pay for additional features of the new student center because all architectural decisions have already been made.

"We thought, if nothing else, we could have signage educating the public about features already installed," Datema said.

Saunders said one of the reasons signage is a logical choice is because those involved with the new building are already past the planning stage during which actual building features would have been installed.

Saunders also said that when it comes to green building, MU is already doing a lot of things right.

"Our air circulation systems are efficient, and we're hooked up to efficient heating and cooling systems," Saunders said. "Also, we have a lot of solar windows, which reduce the need for electric lights."

Datema mentioned that a possible goal for future MU building projects is to achieve certification by the United States Green Building Council. The council has a points system where points are awarded based upon the environmentally conscious features a building includes. Buildings can be awarded with several different levels of certification

Certification for the new student center was not possible because MU's budget for the project was insufficient, Missouri Students Association President-elect Jim Kelley said.

"Environmental practices are very behavior-oriented," Kelley said. "I am confident that the administration is dedicated to the cause, that Sustain Mizzou is dedicated to the cause, and that it will remain a priority."

Kelley said he plans to have monthly meetings with Datema to discuss environmental concerns at MU.

Students interested in Sustain Mizzou have the opportunity to join the group at meetings at 7 p.m. every other Wednesday in Stewart 100. The first meeting of the new semester took place Jan. 23.