Environmentally friendly dorms, or green dorms, are popping up across the nation’s college and university campuses, providing an eco-friendly alternative to dorm life.
University of South Carolina, Stanford University and Tufts University are among the many colleges and universities going green, but what about here at Stony Brook?
Felicia Weathers, a Stony Brook University junior, said she would like to see green dorms on campus as long as they don’t raise tuition.
The Stony Brook University assistant director of housing, Alan deVries, said Stony Brook Southampton has green dorms and the new building currently being built in Roosevelt Quad will be environmentally friendly.
The Stony Brook Southampton dean, Mary Pearl, has made sustainability her top priority.
Pearl is currently the president of Wildlife Trust, a worldwide organization devoted to conservation science.
The Southampton campus serves organic food, and in the near future they will have a geothermal heating and water system throughout the school.
Stony Brook University junior Tim Quinn said green dorms are a good idea but people since people ruin the earth everyday, it wouldn’t make much of an impact overall.
The green dorm at Tufts University in Massachusetts has environmental features such as solar panels on the roof which heat the water, motion sensor lights and dual-flush toilets, which conserve water and energy.
At the University of South Carolina, their green dorm is built with recycled materials, the water is heated by solar panels, and electricity and hot water for the dorm are produced by a five-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cell. The dorm also has a turf roof, which reduces rainwater runoff and ultimately helps reduce storm water and greenhouse gases.
“There are motion lights in the laundry rooms in dorms which conserve energy,” said Stony Brook University freshman Arianna Katz. “But the bathroom toilets flush too much and the bathroom lights always stay on, which wastes water and energy.”
DeVries also said Stony Brook University is taking the initiative to go green by saving trees and having students complete housing forms online.
Some tips on how to “green” your dorm room are use a fan instead of air conditioning, buy compact fluorescent light bulbs for your room, buy organic cotton sheets and drapery, use a microwave or toaster instead of an energy-wasting oven, and don’t buy a fridge unless you need it but make sure it is Energy Star rated.
Dwight Gentile, a Stony Brook University senior, said he would like to see green dorms at Stony Brook and thinks they are a good idea because they recycle resources.
“While green dorms are a good idea, we’re college kids and we need to be told to do something,” Gentile said. “We won’t recycle until we take initiative and see it happening.”
