Petition Regarding the Green Fee Fund

The money comes from students, plain and simple. It is an optional donation by students, to a student fund, that was created for campus sustainability at the behest of the students and student projects that fall within the fund's purview. I realize the word "students" appears numerous times in the previous sentence, and this hopefully should give anybody a good idea as to the fund's purpose.

It is troubling and disappointing to see the lack of engagement on the part of the administrators of the college with the student body. Such an important and innovative part of the college should be a collaborative and productive endeavor that could significantly help raise the profile of the college and prove to be an incredible opportunity for students to exercise leadership and give them far greater experience. Unfortunately, there has been an unwillingness to communicate, intentional and unintentional misdirection, and a complete refusal to cooperate.

I believe very strongly in building and strengthening bridges to form effective, productive, and mutually beneficial partnerships. Unfortunately, it is difficult to build a bridge when one group will not even lay the foundation for their half of it. The students have gone through channels, jumped through hoops, and made every effort to work constructively with administrators, but to no avail. We not only want to have a spot at the table, but we want to be listened to.

It is precisely this feeling of being ignored and having the issues we care about shunned that contribute to the decision of students to stay at a school, come to a school, or donate to a school. If the institution continues down this road, it is in trouble. This is not just unfair to students, it is also bad business. It is our community too. We want to see it succeed and thrive just as much as anybody else.