THE GREEN EDITION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
VOL. 116, NO. 41 • SINCE 1908
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2014
Green Quad turns 10
After 10 years, campus looks back on history, sustainability efforts
created with the same budget as the last two residences built on campus. From this vision, Green Quad was born. “I was convinced that this was going way of the future,” Luna said. to be the w not going to be a fad. This “This was n was going to be our lifestyle in the future for a long, long time.” When Luna started the first stages L project, there were no LEEDof the proj architects in South Carolina certified ar and just one on in North Carolina. He closest one he could find, and hired the cl architectural team spent a year his archi creating the plans. creatin a year and a half of A f ter t con st s r uc t ion , G reen Q u ad opened in 2004. Luna said its opene mission was to act as a “beacon missio for the campus and for sustainability susta even across acro the community.” W hen the building opened its for students, Green Quad doors fo was the second green residence on a college colleg campus and the largest
Natalie Pita
@NATALIEPITA
When Gene Luna camee to USC in 1992 as director of universit niversit y housing, he knew he wanted d to bring sustainability to the university. sity. But he never expected how far that goal would take him. Green Quad will celebrate ate its 10th anniversary starting Monday. nday. The residence hall has been a catalyst atalyst for sustainability across campus, us, but that wasn’t a guarantee when n it was first being built. When he was offered funds unds to create a design for USC’ss first-ever green residence hall, Luna had no idea what a green building was. But after some research, he decided ed that he wanted his new residence ce hall to be certified with leadership ership in energy and environmental ntal d e s i g n ( L E E D). H e a l s o wanted the new residence to o be
HISTORY • 3
You are what you wear: recyclables turned into clothes
Garden gives students food, volunteer opportunities
Brandon Waltz
Krishna Thakker
@BRANDONWALTZ
@KRISHNA_THAKKER
The Carolina Communit unit y Farm and Garden (CCFG), founded nded in 2007 and located at Green Quad, ad, is the fi rst community garden on campus. mpus. The community is fi lled d with sustainable features, which includes everything from a permaculture design and aquatic features to a rainwater collection, boxx gardens and a forest garden. Vermicomposting, the use of worms to break down food, also plays a large rge role at CCFG. Students can volunteerr at the garden and take home some of the food they ey grow. And CCFG has partnered ed with various organizations around campus to host events on the garden that
Your soda bottle bo from lunch could be a shirt one day. No, really. efforts of Renew Merchandise, Through the effo recycled plastic bo bottles can become custom clothing. Renew Merchandise ttakes certified post-consumer bottles made of PET plastic and breaks them down pla as part of a custom five-step process. The plastic is five-s then used to make signatu signature Renew Fibers, which is woven into yarn and forms the RPET fabric of their merchandise. Renew Merchandise can be ffound at USC in the form of T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, polos, water bottles and aprons and can be ordered online.
GARDEN • 2
MERCHANDISE • 3
Green Scholars strive for sustainability education
Green Quad pushes students to live, learn sustainability
Lois Carlisle
Lauren Shirley
@LOISCARLISLE
@SURELYLAUREN
The Green Scholars program rogram began this year with an aim to better er educate the USC community about environmental sustainability. There are 19 scholars in total, all digging in to a two-year commitment to environmental educat ion and research. Dakota Fly n n, a graduate assistant at the Green Quad Learning Center, serves as a mentor to the group. “ We w o r k a l o t w i t h t h e g r o u p o n u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e d i f f e r e nt f a c e t s o f sustainability,” Flynn said. Financial sustainability, social justice, wellness and education are among some things students can study. Additionally, students are required to complete a set number of community service hours as part of the program. “Several of the students have been recognized for their leadership,” Flynn said. “We have spent a day cleaning up the Rocky Branch River, and many students have found avenues for research.” One of these students is Rohan Bhalla, a firstyear risk management and finance student, who decided to participate in the scholars program based on his business studies. “Knowledge about sustainability is going to be integral in any industry in the coming times,” he said. “The Green Scholars program gives me an opportunity to further my understanding of what sustainability means in today’s world, while also giving me the opportunity to be involved within my residence hall in ways that not only makes my experience on campus better, but also allows me to build better relationships with the faculty here at Green Quad.” Besides clea n ing up t he Rock y Bra nch River, Bhalla has broadened his sustainable k now-how from listening to distinguished professors known for their ongoing research in
Going green sometimes seems like a difficult task, but at USC, it may be easier than you think. Recycling, in particular, is a simple way to reduce waste. All around Russell House are “Big Bellies,” the newest trash and recycling compactors on campus — eight were installed on campus in the spring. The Big Bellies use solar power to run compactors, which allows each to handle the same amount of garbage as five regular trashcans. The garbage can is situated alongside the recycling bin on the Big Bellies, which makes it easier for students to separate their waste. “ T he y ’re re a l l y v i s ible , s o p e ople have been asking about them a lot,” said Margaret Bounds, USC’s coordinator for environmental sustainability for University Housing Facilities Operations. “It’s neat to see people thinking about trashcans. A lot of times, trash and recycling are an afterthought.” USC is working on a five-year plan to change the university’s recycling bins to single-st ream rec ycling bins, like t he receptacles in Thomas Cooper Library. Single-stream recycling (sometimes called mixed recycling) allows for all recyclable
Every residence hall h on USC’s campus are thought of as a community comm where students can live, work and experience college, but none of them are as sustainable as Green Quad. The Green Quad living and learning community facilitates students’ learning about sustainable practices in the quad, while promoting research, teaching and community service through a handson learning community. The learning community promotes sustainable living in everyday life and simultaneously encourages a sense of community within the quad. Allison Barnabe, a second-year biology student, is a Green Quad Resident Mentor, and she said the apartment-style housing within Green Quad provides a sense of community that she couldn’t get anywhere else. “I really feel like people automatically assume [there are] so many closed doors,” she said. “ You do have to work at the community a little bit more, but that’s what makes it better.” Barnabe not only feels close with her fellow Green Quad residents, but she also feels as though she has a chance to branch out and explore different green alternatives while integrating them into her everyday life alongside of her residents. “It’s cool because we’re self-sustainable,” Barnabe said, “We recycle plastics number one through 10, and we have a compost. We have our own garden in the quad. It’s nice to show people that. It’s a good way to educate them. A lot of people come in and have no idea how to go about sustainability. They’re not opposed to it — they just don’t know how.” As a Resident Mentor, Barnabe said she feels like she has a chance to share her dedication to both her sustainability goals and personal relationships with her residents.
RECYCLING • 3
COMMUNITY • 3
SCHOLARS • 2
Being green can be easy with campus recycling Madeleine Collins
@MADDY_COLLINS37