It’s that time of year when new students arrive at their school, eager to start classes and make sure that campus is the right fit for them. Between college Web sites and publications, outside rating companies and word-of-mouth, first-years hope they’ve found a place that matches their academic, social and aesthetic needs.

Now you can add “green needs” to that list.

In the past few years, campus sustainability credentials have taken a front role in university advertisements and students decisions.

Several ranking systems have emerged to rate colleges in areas of green compliance, such as the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s “Green Report Card.” For the past two years, the Princeton Review has included a “Green Rating” in their college information books. The Review created this rating after 63% of college applicants said that a college’s commitment to the environment would impact their ultimate school choice. Developed with ecoAmerica, the rating is based on three broad areas: how environmentally responsible school policies are; how healthy and sustainable the quality of campus life is; and how well the school prepares students to make responsible and sustainable decisions after college.

Whitman has a tradition of environmental responsibility, promoted by the list of environmental principles and standards that many new students probably scanned at some time on the website. And in the past few years, Whitman has taken several big steps forward in their commitment to sustainability.

Based on student interest and following other colleges’ lead, Whitman developed a part-time student Sustainability Coordinator position that debuted last fall. The position was created to provide a point person between students, staff and faculty. The Coordinator’s   main task is to provide the information and resources that those working for sustainability on campus need to succeed. The Sustainability Coordinator currently reports to Jed Schwendiman, Chair of the Conservation Committee and associate to the President.

Junior Karlis Rokpelnis was the first sustainability coordinator. He was involved in three significant green developments last year: the installation of the solar panels on the Bratton Tennis Center, completion of the greenhouse gas audit, and the GoPrint system. Rokpelnis is “particularly proud of the team [of students] that worked on the greenhouse gas audit…the audit is a significant first step in understanding the College’s environmental impact in a detailed and accountable way.”

Rokpelnis believes the solar panels highlight Whitman’s commitment to the environment and that GoPrint shows that real-time feedback systems can reduce resource use significantly. Feedback systems for dorm energy and water use have been proposed by students but have yet to be implemented.

Senior Lisa Curtis takes over the position this fall. A leading member of student climate activism the past few years, Curtis is looking forward to becoming a link between students and faculty.   She hopes to use the position to get students involved in community sustainability issues off campus as well. Though excited about the position, Curtis is also nervous about the greenhouse gas audit done last spring. “It is pretty controversial (in audits) as to what gets counted and what doesn’t.   We want an audit that adds to our baseline knowledge and is used to create our next steps,” she said.

Curtis believes that Whitman can develop a better sense in graduating students of “what they can do to ensure a more sustainable future…having experienced a culture of sustainability on campus.”

Both Rokpelnis and Curtis believe that the ultimate goal is to have a full-time sustainability coordinator position. “Whitman is ahead of the game, but not as far as we could be,” Curtis said, “there are a lot of other colleges that have done more things to commit themselves to sustainability, but our administration is very open to student initiatives.”

Based on various rankings, Whitman’s performance is about smack in the middle. “Whitman students and employees have a lot of enthusiasm for sustainability, but the environmental efforts have often been unplanned and sporadic,” said Rokpelnis. Curtis and Rokpelnis hope the continuity of the coordinator position and the links they create between factions on campus will go a long way towards more effective student and school environmental action.

Students are excited about this position as well. Senior Tyler Harvey helped Rokpelnis create the new Sustainability Wiki last fall, which highlights campus commitments and is a space for student groups to share their accomplishments.     “[The Wiki} is pretty much the most exciting development in green information sharing that’s happened while I’ve been here” said Harvey.

Senior Camila Thorndike, was co-president of Campus Climate Challenge last semester. “Having been a part of a group (CCC) that pushed for this position, it is very exciting to see the creation of this viable role that provides such a great bridge into the administration, and hopefully the coordinator can help streamline our sustainability efforts.” Thorndike was a student representative on the hiring committee for the coordinator position   the past two years and has interviewed Rokpelnis, Curtis and all the other applicants. “I hope to see the position expand to a full-time and more established and far-reaching position, on campus and in the community,” Thorndike added.

Students interested in joining student sustainability action on campus and wanting to know where to start can attend the Green Meeting this Friday, September 4th, at 12 pm in Reid 207. The meeting will cover the different environmental groups on campus and the general plans for this year to inform students about initiatives they can join to push Whitman’s sustainability commitments over the next few years.

Students can access the Wiki and find out more about campus sustainability efforts at: www.whitman.edu/sustainability.