The Simpson College Student Government Association has established a Sustainability Committee to tackle the issue on campus.

The committee, chaired by Professor Daryl Sasser is comprised of students from SGA, the Sustainability Club and faculty. 

The committee is funded by the SGA who is using a sustainable model according to Jailyn Seabrooks, Simpson College student body president.

“Every year SGA uses the funds left over from the previous year to tackle some capital improvement projects. In the past, this has included the renovation of Holy Grounds, the addition of charging tables and additional campus lighting. This year we decided that one big area we wanted to focus on was sustainability,” Seabrooks said.

The committee will meet on Tuesday to discuss their priorities and projects they want to tackle. The goal is to establish a more sustainable campus.

“I am excited to be a part of the Sustainability Committee,” Victoria Jordan, a student representative on the Sustainability Committee, said. “I can’t wait to see the impact that our committee will have on campus. We hope to bring sustainable projects on campus to help Simpson lesson its footprint on our planet. We are in the process of determining where we want our focus to be and how we can best make a green impact on campus.”

“SGA created this committee to help identify what the campus’s biggest needs are and what are creative approaches to those needs are,” Seabrooks said.

Simpson has a few sustainable practices in place such as recycling bins in classrooms and  in the Kent Campus Center for food and beverage waste. Simpson also has water bottle filling stations to cut down on disposable bottle use. Seabrooks doesn’t think this is enough. 

“There will be other capital improvement projects this year, but this is one of the big ones. Simpson is pretty far behind our peers in higher education in regards to sustainability.” Seabrooks said.

Seabrooks wants to see Simpson competing for a top spot in the sustainability game. In the Princeton Review’s 2018 list of 399 green colleges in the United States, only four Iowa campuses made the cut. Coe College, Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa, and Wartburg College are all listed.

Not only would  these improvements make an impact on the environment, it would make Simpson a more desirable choice for students during their college searches.

Students can expect to see a variety of  new sustainable projects very soon.

“The solutions could include things like better waste management, sustainable energy, building improvements, etc. Our hope is that the committee spends this semester creating a proposal of what to do and then SGA approves it. Then next semester we will start accomplishing the projects they propose,” Seabrooks said.

Students on campus should look for updates about the committee in the Student Government minutes and reach out to their class representatives for suggestions on projects and improvements. 

“I hope this committee is a step towards a more sustainable Simpson and this work continues for many years,” Seabrooks said.