Whitman has long enjoyed a reputation for “green” living. Student groups and organizations such as Campus Climate Challenge, the Outhouse and Campus Greens raise awareness on campus about green standards and environmentally sound practices. This green status is awarded to the campus community, however, as opposed to individual students. A survey conducted among 100 Whitman students addressed the question “How green is the average Whitman student really?”
The survey was comprised of nine multiple-choice questions and one comment question. The multiple-choice questions were designed to survey green habits of Whitman students, such as recycling and double-sided printing. The comment question asked for students’ assessments on green living on Whitman campus. Interest in this issue is high on campus: The 100-person quota for the online survey was filled within four hours.
In analyzing the results of the survey, the questions that showed a clear majority choosing one response were primarily on issues that the campus and the administration has explicitly addressed. For example, labeled recycling boxes are located in every dormitory and Outhouse residents pick up the materials, making recycling virtually effortless for students living in campus housing. Sixty-eight of the students surveyed said they recycled all the time, and no student said they didn’t recycle because they were confused about what materials are recyclable. Campus printers in Penrose Library and the Olin Hall computer lab have an option for double-sided printing, which 83 percent of surveyed students use.
Green practices that required more individual effort, however, were less widely practiced. Forty-eight percent of the survey participants take showers between eight and 15 minutes. Forty-six percent said they left appliances like laptops, TVs and cell phone and camera charges plugged in when they weren’t in use. The survey demonstrated that while Whitman students generally practice green living that is more community based, they take individual initiative less often.
The comments left at the end of the survey followed along the same lines as the multiple-choice responses. Most students thought that the student body as a whole is concerned about the environment, but green living is not always practiced as widely as it could be. One response read, “Just because we are environmentally aware doesn’t mean we implement green principles in our own lives all the time.”
Many comments named specific instances in which green living was actively rejected. One participant, after mentioning living in a fraternity, noted that green practices were especially shunned in the house. Another claimed to know someone who “throws away Bon Appétit bowls because it’s easier than returning them to the dining halls.”
Several survey participants suggested ways to address and improve environmental concerns on campus, such as composting, cutting back on consumption, submitting assignments via e-mail and heating campus buildings more efficiently. These suggestions ranged from personal habits to administrative changes.
The comments expressed varying opinions about the ease of green living at Whitman as opposed to students’ home towns. One responder asked coworkers in her home town to “stop ordering Styrofoam, which actually pissed some people off . . . Whitman is way more green than [my home town].”
Another student disagreed: “Green living on Whitman is not that easy. Our power isn’t from green sources, our food isn’t, etc.” One participant mentioned that the administration needs to provide more options towards green living, suggesting clotheslines instead of dryers and biodegradable takeout containers at Reid.
A common consensus was that “although [it is] definitely more ‘green’ than many other campuses, Whitman still needs to step it up.”
