Let there be light
There has been no light in my room since Friday, Oct. 9. My roommate and I have been exiled away from the comforts of our home away from home to study for midterms and writing papers in hallways and lounges. Is it too much to ask that the haven of my room be illuminated?
For 12 days I have walked into my room hoping when I push that light switch upward, the round ceiling light that offsets the rainy misery outside and my self-diagnosed seasonal depression will glow as brightly as my parents’ thousands of dollars in room and board payments asks it to.
For now, all forms of light after sundown come from my roommate’s lone desk lamp and the solar-powered Ikea lamp my guilt-ridden environmental conscience thought would be a good idea.
I sat through those introductory Freshman Quad meetings and as far as I can tell, I’ve done everything right. Five minutes after the light went out, I knocked on my friendly and ever-helpful CA’s door and told him about it. My roommate e-mailed him to follow up a couple of days later. He assured us he had placed the work order Friday.
Don’t get me wrong: If I could, I would change the bulb myself, but I can’t. In a frustrated attempt, I recruited my tallest hallmate and had her wedge off the plastic covering to find a tubular circle bulb that seemed to be permanently wired to the ceiling — something my Northwestern education has yet to equip me to handle.
Finally, my light was fixed Tuesday. I realize maintenance must have a substantial workload. More than 4,000 students live on campus, leaving the possibility of thousands of burnt-out lights — but nearly two weeks is a long time. I can’t prove it, but I slowly went insane.
— Jeannette Moon
Forum assistant
Greener pastures to come for NU
Thomas Friedman told NU students at University President Morton O. Schapiro’s inauguration we need to tell our policymakers “carbon tax now!” A price and cap on carbon is one step, but what else can we do as NU students to make sure the U.S. is not left behind as the world moves to global clean energy economy?
NU has shown it can adapt. The Associated Student Government announced plans this week to form a new committee focused on the environment and sustainability at NU, one that bridges relations between schools and groups. While there has always been some student-led action on the environment, the scene has been a little fractured in the past, making it hard for a strong, united voice on the environment to be heard at NU.
Now all that is about to change. Student groups, faculty and staff who deal with maintenance, recycling and food services have banded together to send a report to Schapiro on sustainability on campus. The report sprung from a class last year, showing NU can be a rich, interdisciplinary place to explore climate change solution. This new spirit of cooperation will also be highlighted Friday, when Students for Ecological and Environmental Development, Environmental Campus Outreach at Hillel; Engineers for a Sustainable World and NU Solar Car will unite to design a homecoming float in honor of the 350 International Day of Climate Action on Oct. 24.
Experts agree 350 parts per million is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide if the world wants to “avoid runaway climate change.” Learn about what 350 is and why it’s important at 350.org, and then show your support at NU’s very own officially registered 350 Day of Action event Friday. The world will be watching.
— Liana Balinsky-Baker
Deputy news editor,
Illinois youth delegate, Will Steger Foundation
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