Students in Dr. Oliver Dinius’ International Studies 207 class analyze excerpts from Venezuela’s constitution that were handed out in class Wednesday. DM Photo | Cady Herring
The University of Mississippi continues to show progress with the sustainability initiatives on campus.
Last year, Chancellor Dan Jones re-signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, indicating the university’s commitment to sustainability at an institutional level. The hydration stations set up around campus have also been a success, filling more than one million bottles as of last semester. Since its establishment in 2013, the Green Fund has funded nine innovative sustainability projects, all proposed by students.
Further, several professors have decided to cut down on the use of paper, which can make a huge difference. The M Book went completely paperless in 2013, reducing the book’s paper consumption by 462,000 pages annually. However, going paperless for teachers and students is not all that simple.
While using less paper by printing double-sided when possible or recycling on campus can be fairly easy, the use of paper rather than strictly digital is still favored by some students.
Kailey Fourmy, a junior exercise science and nursing major, thinks classes that are “paperless,” as well as online classes, tend to be less efficient.
“With paper, I can see everything in front of me all at once instead of closing one window, opening another, etc.,” Fourmy said. “I also feel that actually writing something down helps me to learn unlike typing so quickly that you have no idea what you’re even thinking.”
Many teachers require online submissions of weekly discussion posts, along with a response or two to your classmates’ submissions. Rather than using 15 or more sheets of paper a week and discussing them in class, it is all done online via Blackboard. This not only saves paper each week but also gives the teachers more time to have more in-depth discussions in the classroom.
For those who have classes that require a large amount of paper use, there are an estimated 145 recycling stations located across campus, comprised of bins for paper or cardboard recycling, plastic or aluminum recycling and, in some cases, e-waste recycling, like printer cartridges and mp3 players.
In addition to classes, several sororities across campus are paperless, using e-mail to sign up for functions and to send out announcements throughout the week, including weekly chapter on Monday nights.
“We get the weekly DG email,” junior education major Laura Lee McHenry said. “They never pass out paper, and we have to e-mail in excuses if we have to miss something.”
Students do not all have access to devices that are being used to replace paper, and some classes have no other option than to use paper, based on their tasks.
“I personally strive to be as environmentally conscious as possible, but this doesn’t necessarily mean going completely paperless,” said Lindsey Abernathy, Office of Sustainability project coordinator. “And, as with most things, there is always room for improvement. Little things that you can do, like eating locally produced food or carpooling to campus with friends, can make a big difference.”
