THE UNIVERSITY OF HAIRY KANSAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2009
NEWS 3A
CAMPUS Center for Sustainability hosting event today
The first annual "Greening the Crimson and Blue" event is taking place today to inform students about the "green" initiatives underway on campus. The event will be open between 2 and 4 p.m. in front of the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center at the KU Student Rain Garden.
The event, which is being organized by the Center for Sustainability, will allow students to meet with more than 20 organizations and campus departments that have a focus on environmental issues.
Jeff Severin, director of the Center for Sustainability, said he thought the event would be useful for both incoming and returning students alike. At the event, students will have the opportunity to learn many ways they can become involved with the environmental movement on campus.
"We will be providing students with information to help them find out what is happening on campus and what they can do to really connect to the sustainability movement," Severin said.
Students will be able to tour the student-designed rain garden, learn how the University is reducing its carbon footprint and utility bills and fill up containers from a bottle-less water station, among other things.
A full list of activities and participating agencies can be found on the Center for Sustainability's Web site, www.sustainability.ku.edu.
Brandon Sayers
ENVIRONMENT
Anschutz Library received an award Friday for its efforts in energy conservation. Chevron Energy Solutions awarded Anschutz for a student-led initiative to power the library exclusively by wind energy.
Anschutz receives environmental award
BY DANIEL JOHNSON
djohnson@kansan.com
Chevron Energy Solutions recognized Anschutz Library for its efforts in energy conservation and sustainability last week.
Anschutz Library received the special recognition for its efforts in energy conservation, specifically for a student-led initiative to power the library exclusively by wind energy this year. The initiative used student funds to purchase wind power credits from Westar Energy to offset the fossil fuels that would otherwise power the building.
Robert Szabo, Anschutz Library's building operations manager, and Amalia Monroe, sustainability ambassador for KU Libraries, accepted the plaque Friday morning.
Rebecca Smith, director of communications and advancement for KU Libraries, said that the award was an important recognition for the library's energy commitments.
"We take conservation and sustainability very seriously," Smith said. "Anschutz serves a lot of people and this is a great stride for the University as a whole."
Ryan Callihan, president of KU Environs, said that the plaque recognized a major accomplishment for KU students. He said the award capped a long and successful initiative headed by the Student Environmental Advisory Board to power a major campus building completely with clean energy this year.
"It's really cool how it all played out," Callihan said. "Anschutz is a campus symbol. It's a place where lots of students can recognize that
they are having a positive environmental impact"
Anschutz Library is part of the KU Chevron agreement for energy conservation on campus. The partnership is aimed at finding ways to reduce both energy bills and the carbon footprint of campus.
Rod Ideker, KU energy resource manager for Chevron Energy Solutions, said that Chevron recognized significant efforts to increase conservation and sustainability. Ideker said he was impressed by the wind power initiative at Anschutz.
"It is a tremendous thing that the library has done," Ideker said. "We're happy to recognize this accomplishment. We hope there are lots more of these initiatives to come."
Callihan said budget cuts had made it unlikely for the Student Environmental Advisory Board to implement similar large-scale conservation initiatives this year. Instead, Callihan said he hoped the initiative would inspire others to aid the University's energy conservation movement.
"I hope this will really get the ball rolling," Calihan said. "Anschutz is
now setting the bar on campus for sustainability"
The University said in a press release that the wind energy purchased by the initiative would eliminate the burning of more than 3 million pounds of coal during the course of the current school year.
—Edited by Jonathan Hermes
Passion Pit play the Lied Center
Passion Pit performs at the Lied Center Monday night in Lawrence. Student Union Activities originally planned for the concert to be on the hill near the campus campanile, but heavy rain earlier in the day moved it indoors.
RELIGION Lutheran church meets to discuss homosexuality
MINNEAPOLIS — Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination have agreed to disagree on homosexuality, endorsing an official statement on human sexuality that says there's room in the church for differing views on an issue that's divided other religious groups.
Delegates to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's nationwide assembly in Minneapolis on Wednesday approved a "social statement on human sexuality" The vote was a prelude to a bigger debate Friday, when delegates will tackle a proposal that would allow individual ELCA congregations to hire people in committed same-sex relationships as clergy.
The social statement lays a theological foundation for a
liberalized policy on gay clergy, and supporters of the proposal praised Wednesday's vote. "We are encouraged and hopeful that ... this will result in the church's elimination of the current ban on ministers in same gender relationships," said Emily Eastwood, executive director of Lutherans Concerned/North America, a group of pro-gay Lutherans.
Opponents of the social statement said it ignores clear scriptural direction that homosexuality is a sin. "We are asked to affirm a description of sexuality based on a reality that's shaped not by Scripture but by today's culture," said Curtis Sorbo, a convention delegate from the ELCA's Eastern North Dakota Synod.
ELCA officials said it shouldn't be assumed that passage of the social statement automatically means the proposal on gay clergy will be approved.
Associated Press
901 Vermont
785-830-2600
544 Columbia
785-830-2614
With INTRUST Student Banking, the path to financial success is clearer than ever. Sign up for Free Checking and benefit from a variety of online educational resources and tools at
Stop by any branch and get $25 when you open your Free Checking Account, plus you can show your school spirit with a Jayhawk Visa Check Card, available only at INTRUST.
intrustbank.com/student.
1555 Wakarusa
785-830-2650
facebook.com/
intruststudentbanking
Member FDIC
- Offer expires September 30, 2009. To receive this offer, you must be a personal checking customer who has not had ownership on an INTRUST check account in more than 12 months. Bonus will be provided at the account opening and will be reported in the IRS as interest earned. Account requires a $100 minimum deposit. Offer not valid with any other benefits.
Find us on Facebook