 |
| Alex Corning, a freshman finance major, swaps an incandescent light bulb for a compact fluorescent bulb with Jerick Patricio and Telat Yalcin. |
 |
| Honora Knopp, resident life coordinator for Aliso Hall, sits in front of the winning display made with reused materials. |
 |
| . |
Students living in university housing are being encouraged to think globally and act locally starting with one light bulb at a time.
On Nov. 28 and Nov. 29 at Alamitos Hall, more than 130 student residents traded incandescent light bulbs for the more energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps. Students with the Green Campus Program were on hand to swap bulbs and get students to pledge to conserve energy.
“We're trying to reduce our carbon emissions by saving energy,” says Telat Yalcin, a Regenerative Studies graduate student. “This is not just about giving away something for free, and I think the students understand that. We are getting a lot of positive feedback.”
The Green Campus Program, which is funded by the Alliance to Save Energy, is working to make the campus as a whole more energy efficient. The alliance, which promotes energy efficiency worldwide, has established the program at 11 other universities in California. The non-profit organization employs college students who work as interns at various universities. Students Yalcin and Jerick Patricio are leading the current efforts at Cal Poly Pomona.
The light bulb exchange is in step with a trend by University Housing Services to incorporate green living techniques into its programming for students.
Each fall, the residence halls compete with one another by decorating their multi-purpose rooms. For the first time this past September, the students used recycled paper and other eco-friendly materials to cut down on waste, says Jame'l Hodges, coordinator of residential education & leadership. They used materials from the organization Trash For Teaching, which supplies recycled materials and discarded materials from manufacturing processes.
“We want to go green and we want to follow our mission statement,” Hodges says, adding that the Housing Services' mission statement aims to create a learning-centered environment to foster a safe and welcoming community, opportunities for growth, leadership and academic achievement, and respect and value of lifestyle and cultures.
TheGreen Campus Program and Housing Services' environmental efforts are part of a campus-wide commitment to become climate neutral. For more information about the Presidents Climate Commitment visit https://www.cpp.edu/~climate/.