Designed by CCAD students, Taylor Hicks and Danielle Williams

As fall semester gets into full swing, CCAD students will start seeing the fruits of some labors that began last year. The Market (CCAD’s dining hall) is going green.

“It began with a zero landfill concept,” said Dwayne Todd, vice president of student affairs and dean of students about the Student Government’s work to turn the Market into a sustainable dining center.

“Before we went ahead with any decision about sustainability within the Market we discussed the idea in an open forum with the Student Government last spring,” Todd said.

Danielle Williams, a sophomore Advertising & Graphic Design major and member of the Student Government, was involved with the committee that helped initiate the program.

“I see friends who are at universities that have all these sustainable options and to-go containers, so I figured it was time for our school to initiate a program,” Williams said.

Last year CCAD diners threw out roughly 250 to-go containers a day. This year the Styrofoam to-go containers and wax-lined paper cups are gone and the dining area is trayless and using china plates. The Market has also adopted biodegradable to-go products made out of plant materials instead of synthetics.

CCAD’s dining services recycle cardboard, aluminum, glass, and even grease. The dining service also uses biodegradable trash bags. This means that the trash bags will open and breakdown in a landfill, allowing the contents inside to break down sooner.

“It is great that we had an idea and and presented our feedback and research to Dwayne Todd and he ran with it and helped our idea become a reality,” Williams said.

But the process wasn’t all smooth sailing when they had to reach a decision about funding the project, in particular the to-go containers. A higher level of sustainability comes at a higher cost for the college. So how did they compromise?

The student government worked out a plan for the students. Instead of charging every student a higher fee for their meal plans, they decided to charge 25 cents per to-go container. The extra cost of the new containers is a total of 50 cents per container, so the college is covering half of the cost. In addition, each diner, upon purchase of a meal plan, is offered five free to-go containers.

“The Market was designed to be a social environment and this charge encourages the students to interact in the dining hall, but does not punish those who may need to take their meals with them,” Todd said.

“As a freshman, I remember our trash cans in our dorm would overflow with the old to-go-containers because everyone would just go back to their room to eat their food. With the new facilitates and initiative it will hopefully help foster interactions within our student body and college community,” Williams said.

“I am really excited to watch this initiative progress; we will continue to gather feedback from the program and make adjustments where need be. As a long-term goal, I hope to work towards gaining appropriate recycle bins in the dorms and work study areas,” Williams said.

The green initiative for the Market hopes to be completely rolled out by the end of September. The final piece is the composting dumpster. Then, student-created marketing materials will go up around campus to help explain the new sustainable changes.

So keep your eyes peeled and those sustainable minds conscious!

David Merz

By David Merz III, Advertising and Graphic Design Senior and President of the Class of 2011

When I came to CCAD, someone gave a gift to the college that the college then passed along to me in the form of a scholarship. That single financial donation has given me the opportunity to pursue my passion and hone my craft. It has allowed me to work alongside some of the most talented people around and to have those same people turn from classmates to friends. And now that I’m a senior on the brink of graduation (aahhh!), it’s giving me the opportunity to make the same reality possible for someone else.

The idea to leave a Senior Class Gift to the college was pretty simple. The idea to raise money together as the Class of 2011 and donate it to the school’s scholarship fund was even easier.

After all, the point isn’t the amount of money we raise (though raising a lot won’t hurt anyone); it’s the act of doing something together as a class to better the future of the college we all love.

The truth, though, is that we students are broke, and that makes asking for money tough. But we would all be far more broke and have thousands more to pay back (with interest!) if it weren’t for the scholarships we received. So we’re starting small, asking for a dollar here and another there, hoping it will add up to make enough of a difference. And during all the fundraising events we get to hang out together in our final days as CCAD students, which makes the money out of our pockets totally worth it.

This is a small tradition that we’re starting, and we hope the classes of 2012 and thereafter can take and improve this initiative, so the tradition get stronger and better. But my senior class, the Class of 2011, can take pride in being the founders of it all.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Want to add to the scholarship money the Class of 2011 is raising? Visit www.ccad.edu/donate or call Development and Alumni Relations Coordinator Stephanie Stover at 614.222.6188 to make a donation today.

Student Government President David Merz leads the discussion.

What happens when you put 30 CCAD students in a room? Change.

Today CCAD Student Government hosted a spring semester student symposium, a moment for CCAD students to come together in a town hall format to express what is/isn’t working for them.

“The symposium offers students the formal opportunity to tell us the positive and negative things about CCAD,” said Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dwayne Todd. “It helps us [the administration] identify issues that need to be addressed and those that have primary importance to students.”

So what was on the docket during today’s meeting? Safety and security, facilities, and printing. What wasn’t? Sustainability—yet every concern had a hint of it in there (these are some seriously eco-conscious students we have on our campus).

Want #1: Maintain safety on campus.
The plan: Since the beginning of the academic year, access to many on-campus buildings has only been available through the “swiping” of a valid CCAD ID card through magnetic card readers at select building entrances. By the end of the summer, virtually all buildings on campus will have “proximity card” readers, which will open a door simply by waiving a card over the reader.
The results: “I feel incredibly safe on campus,” said advertising & graphic design sophomore Lillie Templeton. “I don’t have to worry about anyone following me into the building, or anyone being in the building who shouldn’t be.”

Want #2: Reduce waste caused by to-go containers in dining hall.
The numbers: The student heading up the facilities committee said that, on average, 250 Styrofoam to-go containers are used ever day in the dining hall. (So what’s that mean big picture? More than 90,000 to-go containers are sent to the landfill each year courtesy of CCAD.)
The ideas: Promote the social experience of the dining hall by switching to a biodegradable to-go container that has to be purchased (say, $0.25). It will promote students actually sitting down to have a meal together and reduce the waste—which is pretty much the definition of a win-win.

Want #3: Free color printing.
The catch: “I’m afraid that a lot of people would abuse color printing if it were free,” said Student Government President David Merz. “People would print everything in color, which means a lot of paper would be wasted and ink would need to be changed more often.”
The ideas: Remove the change from the equation. Find some way of paying with the students’ ID card. The direct cost associated with printing will continue to promote responsible use of the on-campus printing equipment.

Other topics discussed included the possibility to have an on-campus composting option; having an all-you-can-eat versus a la carte dining hall (my favorite quote came from advertising & graphic design senior David Merz, “I personally love all you can eat”); adding more microwaves to campus; and the paperwork that goes along with internships.

“Keep in mind that making the changes you want to see is like turning a great big ship,” said faculty member Duncan Snyder. “Because you all have expressed the need, they’ll happen, but it takes time.”

Meet the members of CCAD’s Student Government here.

To see more pictures from the event, “like” us on Facebook.