SG sustainability efforts are not effecting change

Every two weeks, the Student Government Senate meets in a big room to discuss big campus issues.

But are there big changes that come out of these meetings?

Unless these issues are brought up by members of SG in the form of Senate Special Projects, requiring funding to sponsor a college event or club trip, they are addressed in the form of resolutions up for a vote by all members of the organization.

Resolutions are a type of legislation that the entire Senate must debate and then ultimately vote on to approve or reject.

If approved, the resolution passes the Senate with the body’s stamp of approval. And then where does it go? Ideally, the group of students elected by other students to best represent them, would pass this legislation onto the UK administration who would then do their best to make the desired changes. But that is not what happens.

SG resolutions are just pieces of paper. Words printed to say whether or not this group of students approves or does not approve a solution for a big campus issue.

Case in point: the recently tabled green fee resolution. SG made the decision to wait to vote on a piece of legislation about making a student fee of $6 or $8 toward green initiatives on campus, citing the need to do more research on proposed amendments to the plan, according to a September 25 Kernel article.

But what was the point? Whether the Senate approves a required $6 fee or bumps it up to $8, this won’t be the exact amount of money applied to student fees next school year. This might not even mean any student fees are applied to help make UK environmentally friendly.

It only means there is a piece of paper that says SG thinks some money should go toward university sustainability — if the resolution is approved, that is.

The good news: SG is talking about sustainability. In the efforts to revive the idea of students putting money toward making UK green, SG could play a critical role in making this much-needed important change in campus. But a resolution isn’t the way to do it.

SG should tap into the sustainability resources on campus. There could be a meeting with campus maintenance and administration to find out easy and affordable changes to make now — not next year. SG could give money toward more energy-efficient light bulbs and heating and cooling units, and improved recycling efforts.

These efforts would mean much more than a piece of paper.

This year’s Senate is working to fix what former SG President Nick Phelps broke when he voted against a green fee as a member of the Board of Trustees last year. Green efforts are not only smart, they are necessary for SG to get behind. But the Senate should do it the right way.

Until there is an improved system for how resolutions can make a real difference on campus, a piece of paper will mean nothing for sustainability at UK no matter how the senators vote. Let’s take real steps, make real changes now and stop wasting paper. Or at least recycle.