SUNY New Paltz was named one of The Princeton Review’s “Guide to 311 Green Colleges” for 2012.
According to newpaltz.edu, the guide was produced in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council to profile 320 colleges committed to sustainability.
In this year’s guide, the college was recognized for its academic programs, environmentally-friendly buildings and increased recycling efforts.
According to the New Paltz website, the most recent construction projects have been designed with greener living in mind: the Atrium was designed with recycled glass and concrete flooring and the Old Main building was redesigned to have maximum water, air and light efficiency.
Jennifer Newman, a Environmental Task Force representative for the New Paltz Recycling Club, said the recognition is incredible and a sure sign that students are also working to create a sustainable community on campus.
“New Paltz is clearly striving to become a greener campus,” Newman said. “From compost at Hasbrouck and the Earth day events and carnivals, we’re doing so much. But, we can do more.”
One of the initiatives Newman said the club is working on is making our campus into a “tree campus.” She said this is a regional acknowledgement that the college works toward restoring the greenery on their land and having more trees.
Newman said the participation in RecycleMania, an inter-Residence Hall contest that tallies the amount of recyclables collected on campus, doubled from 2011 to 2012. Students collected 45,269 pounds of recycled goods opposed to the 28,000 pounds earned previously.
However, Newman said she thinks the competitive nature of the event was more of an incentive for most students to participate.
“I’d love to say that it was love of the environment that got them so excited,” Newman said. “But, the competition certainly helped.”
Second-year theater major Julia Fell said she admires the school’s attempts at greener thinking, especially the way it reaches the classroom.
“I think that this campus does try to be green and does, in some cases, succeed,” Fell said. “There are many ways to recycle and the installation of the print quota, although annoying if you have a lot to print, ultimately saves paper. The use of Blackboard by many professors to post and have students submit assignments is something that I think is a really great step forward.”