The Cost of Fine Dining

For such an extremely liberal institution, it seems to me that Oxy lags behind in the area of environmental awareness and activism. Case-in-point: the dining facilities. The only apparent sustainable measure that Oxy dining has taken is providing a recycling system. Even so, many students do not take advantage. Lack of caring on students’ parts is partly, (probably mostly), to blame. At the Cooler, it is easier for students to just throw all the waste from their meal (cups, bottles, leftover food, wrappers) in the garbage can rather than separating it. While it’s not hard to just throw containers in the clearly labeled bins, it does require a small amount of effort that some students are unwilling to put in. Confusion may be a factor as well. I am still unclear about what types of plastic Oxy recycles. My freshman year RAs told us at our very first hall spread that plastic numbers 1 and 2 (PETE and HDPE) were the only types Oxy recycled and to please throw the higher-numbered plastics in the garbage. Since then I’ve been told that all plastics can be recycled. This is an important distinction because many plastic containers in the dining commons are plastic #5, polypropylene: beverage containers, yogurt containers, and the Cooler salad/fruit containers (I think). If Oxy does not currently recycle all plastics, I think that is an important step to take, and should not be too difficult to implement. I my hometown, the city picks up plastic #1 and #2 from the curb on garbage day, and the higher numbered plastics can be taken to a different facility by the individual. I would assume there is a similar option in LA.
Recycling is such an important concern because SO much plastic gets used at Marketplace and Cooler. Large plastic to-go containers are very readily available at the Marketplace and most students don’t think twice about taking one; some even use them when eating at the facility. Similarly, to-go cups and utensils are way more commonly used than the non-disposable ones. One way to improve this situation would be to have a very minor cost/penalty for taking a to-go container in the Marketplace, like charging a dollar to the student’s meal plan. While I’m sure that there would be huge administrative obstacles to actually implementing this, I think it would be a push in the right direction of getting students to at least be aware of the environmental impact of their habits.

Obliviousness and the Transit System

When I asked my friends if they knew anything about using the L.A. Metro, they all stared at me with blank expressions. Though we’ve been in Los Angeles over a year, none of us know how to use public transportation to explore the city. At home, in Washington, DC, my friends and I use public transportation almost everyday. The DC transit system is very easy to use and rarely requires more than a two-step journey. The system is also accessible, timely and reaches far into the suburban areas.
I wanted to see how the LA system differs from the DC metro system. My friend and I had talked about going to see Watts’ Tower and so I decided this would be a good opportunity to tour the public transportation system in LA. When I looked up the travel itinerary for the trip to Watts, I realized that my public transportation experience might be slightly different in L.A. I saw that it would include multiple transfers with unclear inter-stage waiting times.
Throughout the trip, I saw that the obliviousness to public transportation in L.A. is not contained to Occidental’s campus. Many people were sporting confused facial expressions and asking questions about the directions of the trains. The unclear signs and lack of Metro officials did not help the experience. One woman from out of town asked a directional question of a nearby passenger who was a local and still unable to answer. This made me think that even some people who are using the system are not completely aware of the geographical layout of the neighborhoods and Metro lines. This hypothesis was further reinforced while I was walking around Watts. During the official tour of Sam Rodia’s towers, another tourist asked our guide which metro station was nearby. The guide said that she did not know, even though we could see the top of the station from the towers. I was able to answer the question after one day of travel while the tour guide has been in L.A. for three years attending graduate school. This shows that most people can avoid using the public transportation system altogether. In DC, parking is not as readily available and people are encouraged to use public transit. Because it is so easy and well-established, many people are more willing to use the DC Metro and buses.
In our class discussions and my group discussions with the Alternative Transportation group, we have discussed creating new ways of transportation on campus. For example, we are trying to implement Zip Car and a bike sharing program. I am very excited about these programs, but I do not think we have given as much thought to educating students about alternative systems that are already in place.

BIXI for OXY?

The students on the Alternative Transportation Team have begun to realize the multitude of issues that must be addressed in creating a Bike Share program at Oxy. The many types of programs already in place at other institutions and cities combined with the various possibilities here at Oxy create an overwhelming sensation in and of itself. Where to begin? What approach to use? Two major proposals have already been rejected at Oxy in recent years. One proposed, for-profit proposal was too over-the-top, asking the school to purchase expensive bikes and to build a storage structure behind the Johnson Student Center. It seemed promising but was rejected because of fire code violations regarding the storage structure and the lack of funding to make the project feasible. Meanwhile, the other proposal did not provide enough promise for feasibility and wouldn’t have met Oxy’s safety requirements. Our goal must be to find the middle ground.

Oxy’s Director of Risk Management, Rebecca Dowling, is a crucial authority on the judgment of proposal feasibility. She has seen great ideas created and then rejected because underlying assumptions did not take critical liability issues into consideration. In a recent meeting with her, Mrs. Dowling told Alternative Transportation team members that she is ready to help the project by leading it in the right direction. Her support is a great tool and she said she would be willing to meet regularly. She mentioned that recent projects had also been unable to be finished due to student leaders graduating. It is essential that students realize how much time a project will take and that younger students must get involved to see a project through and be able to see the benefits.

Browsing the internet for other bike rental programs around the world, I found an interesting for-profit bike rental system in Montreal. The company, BIXI, has many “stations” throughout the city where bikes can be rented out on an hour basis. This got me thinking of why we couldn’t just contract the job of implementing a bike share program out to a company that already knows and uses an effective method. Isn’t that what we’re planning to do with Zipcar? I know it sounds lame and lazy, but if it works, why not? Instead of having students pay with a credit card, have ID cards work with the pay station and give each student a certain limited amount of credit each semester so the system isn’t abused. The school could absorb the costs and use the successful, sharp-looking, and progressive system to promote good PR to prospective students. And perhaps help the school with our sustainability grade failures…

Here’s the BIXI site: http://montreal.bixi.com/home/home-explanation

And here are some pictures of “stations” in Montreal. The company is in the process of expanding to Boston and London. Why couldn’t the model be adapted to a college campus?

Oxy Admin: Friend or Foe?

          After doing some hardcore navigating of the Zipcar website, stalking other small colleges’ sustainability pages for any mention of car sharing, and (finally) talking to the National University Director for Zipcar, I was pumped.

Why so excited?  Perhaps I was a little delusional, but after all my research, I thought there was really no way Oxy couldn’t implement Zipcar – or a similar program – on campus.  Oxy’s urban, car-centric campus makes a car-sharing program a nearly inevitable student service.  Plus, over 130 colleges in the United States – including dozens of small liberal arts colleges – have had great success starting up a Zipcar program on campus.  Zipcar even does all the work – Oxy’s only obligation would be $1500/car/month revenue guarantees, which could hopefully be covered by financial support from the Sustainability Fund or other sources on campus.  Once these guarantees are met (which often happens after just a few months), Zipcar lifts them – permanently. It seemed like a win-win the Oxy admins should have no problem with: the students would be happier, parking would become less of an issue, and the program may even attract some prospective students.   And so, all giddy from talk of Priuses and online reservation systems, I went – with a student ASOC senator – to start casually talking to the Oxy administration. 

Needless to say, the meeting didn’t go exactly as I’d planned.  In fact, it was downright disheartening.

Clearly, I was a bit delusional to think that such a car-sharing program would be ‘inevitable.’  Unfortunately, Oxy admins – even those who are all for sustainable programs such as Zipcar – aren’t allowed to support these ideas as much as they would otherwise, because of Oxy’s strict policy-making criteria, otherwise known as Always-make-policies-based-upon-the-hypothetical-worst-case-scenario. Technicalities and policy details make implementing any program at Oxy a time-consuming and frustrating process.

Although there were quite a few potential issues listed by administrators regarding the Zipcar program, a primary concern was insurance.  Why?  One reason was that even though Zipcar provides insurance for all drivers in the program, a student – or someone hit by a student – may sue them if Zipcar insurance doesn’t cover the total accident costs. 

Practical?  Perhaps.  Irrational? I think so.  I agree that any school –especially a small school – should be cautious when adopting a new, potentially risky, program.  However, programs such as Zipcar and bike-sharing present the opportunity for far more benefits to students than potential costs.  Even better, these benefits have already been tested and proven by over one hundred other colleges and universities nationwide.  According to economics, and most students, that means that adopting these programs should be a no-brainer. 

Hopefully, by my next blog post, I’ll have some great news to share regarding Zipcar.  A fellow student (an ASOC senator) and I will be meeting with Rebecca Dowling (the woman in charge of insurance and waivers) and Tim Chang (the new ResLife director) on Friday to go over some Zipcar details.  If anyone would like to meet with Annie and I on Friday the 16^th before our meeting to give some suggestions or talk about Zipcar, please do so!  We’ll be outside the ASOC office from about 11:45-12:45.   

Lastly…a few Zipcar photos to get everyone excited!

Revival of the Bengal Bus??

Upon browsing Oxy's website, I came across a page directed towards prospective students regarding transportation in Los Angeles. The college lists four modes of transportation while living on campus: walking, driving, public transportation, and "shuttle bus," commonly referred to current students as the Bengal Bus. After reading this, I realized that I've maybe heard of/considered using the Bengal Bus' services at most, once or twice, since learning about it on a tour of Oxy as a high school senior. I believe that I can represent a great majority of the student body in this experience. Being a part of the alternative transportation team, I think that this is an another easy project that we should conquer--to spread the popularity and usage of the Bengal Bus. Although we should keep progress with our other main goals of implementing a shared bike and zip car program, in the meantime, we could easily take on this smaller project on the side. Since we are a relatively big group in the class, I don't think this would cause much burden at all. It would also provide an immediate alternative transportation solution, as the service is already in practice...just not taken advantage of.

What we could do as a group (or within the group) is maybe look into advertising for this service. Though it is already advertised on the small white board outside the student center in the quad, we should blow this up to a greater scale. We might want to look into posting flyers with the schedule, post the schedule in the digest, etc. Before advertising, a survey might also be good to distribute to quantify how many people use the Bengal Bus, how many people are aware of the Bengal Bus, how many people know its schedule, location, etc.

oxy.edu claims that "A free “Bengal Bus” shuttle service is available to you and your guests. The shuttles, which run every half hour on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, go to local restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters, and DVD/video rental stores, as well as the Glendale Galleria and Old Pasadena." In addition to these "luxury trips," the Bengal Bus also provides rides during the weekdays for people who need to simply run errands. The schedule is as follows:

Mondays

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Eagle Rock Errands (Target, CVS, Trader Joe's Loop)

Tuesdays

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Eagle Rock Errands (Target, CVS, Trader Joe's Loop)

Thursdays

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Eagle Rock Errands (Target, CVS, Trader Joe's Loop)

Honestly, who actually knew about the frequency and destinations of the Bengal Bus??! With this knowledge, even with a car on campus, I might consider taking advantage of this resource! Let me know what you all think and if it is something we should pursue!

While we are in the midst of LOCAL FOOD MONTH, it is exciting to hear and see that people are filling out the food survey that the food group has produced. However, just as important is deciding what to do with the information that we aquire. As of now, the food group wants an article to be published in the OXY Weekly about the food survey and its findings. In addition, we would like the findings to be understood by the student body. Therefore, sending it out through the OXY digest is also desirable. While this is good work, I want to make sure that campus dinning services and employees can use the information to benefit all dinning experiences on campus. Does anyone have good ideas about how to relay information to the staff in a way that the information can be used to improve the dinning experience? The survey is open to take all of October. Information will be collected at the end of the month and decisions regarding what to do with the information have to be made. All in all, I am excited to read about what people think about dinning services here at Oxy.

If you haven't filled out the survey, here is the link!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=jP_2bQmeS6_2b8N0jeZqI0WQ1g_3d_3d

On other note, I found this great example of another school garden that has undertaken a composting programs and implemented a student-run coffee/snack shop for free-trade, organic and healthier food options. Interestingly, the Dickinson College Farm (located in PA) provides information about the actual reduced amount of food waste. For example, it states that, "It is estimated that the Student Garden composts approximately 800 pounds of food waste each week!"http://www.dickinson.edu/storg/sisa/campus.html I think it would be a great idea for Oxy to do this too. It allows people to understand the actual benefits that composting provides. In regards to the coffee/snack shop ("Underground"), are gree-trade options going to be available? If yes, this should be advertised before the opening of Oxy's Green Bean Cafe.

Kylie Dennis

Competing for Greening

October is local foods month! As part of the food group we have been distributing and publicizing our survey on campus dining sustainability practices. Judging by our premature results, a significant majority of students (as well as staff) would be willing to spend in the 5-10 or 11-20 % ranges EXTRA for local or organic foods. Is this fact surprising to you? I think this is important for dining services to recognize. Their goal is to get business from students and staff and we are looking for local food! I am excited to see the results after the month is up so we can further analyze them and take steps for change through pressuring dining services and working with them to make sustainable choices.

On another note, this weekend is the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in D.C. (my home town). The event began in 2002 and happened again in 2005 and 2007. Teams of students from colleges and universities across the globe compete in designing and building the most ‘attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.’ The houses are brought to the Mall for display and the public can go in the houses to see them. Houses must be easy to live in, maintain healthy indoor environmental conditions, adequate lighting, supply energy to household appliances for cooking and cleaning, power home electronics, provide hot water, and balance energy and consumption. They are judged based on architecture, market viability, engineering, lighting design, communications, comfort zone, hot water, appliances, home entertainment and net metering. I think this is a super cool event and got to go into some of the impressive houses in 2007 and learned about the benefits of energy efficiency, renewable energy and green building technologies.

For more information, check out the website: http://www.solardecathlon.org/

I hope that with all our resources on campus from UEPI, this class specifically, other physics/science majors, as well as eager environmental stewards we are capable of participating in this awesome event. Maybe we could buy solar panels at the discount rate when the solar project on campus buys its panels. We could even create a team by combing with other institutions in the area like UCLA, Cal Tech, or the Claremont schools. Do you think it would be possible for Occidental to pull together a team and compete in the future?