David Rempfer’s column in Monday’s Kernel admonishing Student Government’s entire purpose provoked this student to respond. I am also a fourth-year student at this university and became actively involved in the student-led environmental group Greenthumb my sophomore year.

Any avid reader of the Kernel should be aware of Greenthumb’s continual efforts to implement a small “green fee” diverted from the mandatory student-fee payment included in tuition, to fund sustainability initiatives on campus. After several years of encountering bureaucratic bulwarks, Greenthumb members were crushed when former SG president and student trustee Nick Phelps, along with staff trustee Russ Williams, carelessly cut what was a 50-cent fee (an overwhelming majority of students originally voted for a $6 to $8 one in 2006) so that the Student Center could have what was, to them, just a little more money.

As undergraduate students dedicated to making the UK campus a more sustainable place, many past and current Greenthumb leaders (including myself as one of this year’s coordinators) can attest to the value SG serves to students with big ideas. Our work with this year’s SG President Tyler Montell, as well as the actions of Greenthumb member and Arts and Sciences Senator Robert Kahne, has paved the way for a more tangible future for an official “green fee.”

Here, I provide you with evidence that SG can either stymie progress if its members are disconnected with students, or provide an invaluable resource for students with goals to achieve, as the current SG officers have proven.

Tate White

Geography and international studies senior