Students can now be E.Co friendly

In an effort to help UCF become more eco-friendly, the Student Government Association's environmental think tank has become more student-friendly.

Students who are not officially affiliated with organized environmental groups on campus are now permitted to attend the group's monthly meetings.

The Environmental Coalition, or E.Co, is a collaborative effort that assembles the major environmental groups at UCF to create green ideas in an effort to make the university more environmentally friendly.

Samantha Ruiz, an E.Co board member, said E.Co is a hub to bring all of their ideas together.

"[We are] providing an opportunity for students to get involved and connect with the right people to make their ideas a reality," Ruiz said.

Prior to this semester, however, E.Co only allowed organizations that focused on the environment (such as I.D.E.A.S. and the UCF Arboretum) to participate. In order to generate more ideas, the E.Co leadership decided to allow students to participate in the process by opening its meetings to all students and encouraging students to contribute their own green ideas.

When Ruiz and E.Co director Julian Belilty came up with the idea to allow all students to join in the idea-generating process, the main idea behind the policy change was the untapped gold vein that is the student body's creativity.

Student input was one of the driving forces behind the decision to have students attend E.Co meetings and share their ideas.

Belilty agreed that more campus contribution will help their cause.

"It [creates opportunities] for more people to serve as leaders for the students," Belilty said.

E.Co is also trying to increase student involvement by creating awareness for the sustainability movement. One way that it is attempting to do so is with its involvement in the Environmental Protection Agency's Game Day Challenge. According to the EPA's website, the Game Day Challenge is a friendly competition for colleges and universities to promote waste reduction at football games. UCF, led by E.Co, took part in the challenge last Saturday during the tailgate prior to UCF's football game against Memphis.

During the tailgate, E.Co set out three recycling bins in front of its tent at the Memory Mall. Belilty said that the typical recycling rate at UCF tailgate events is anywhere from 25 percent to 30 percent. He also said that E.Co's goal for the Memphis tailgate was to double the normal recycling rate.

"We're shooting for doubling [the recycling rate], possibly even more," Belilty said.

As of Nov. 2, the EPA had not released UCF's recycling statistics for the Memphis tailgate.

Students can also help E.Co make UCF sustainable just by going about their normal routines. On the second floor of the UCF Recreation and Wellness Center, for example, students can use one of 20 ReRev ellipticals, which generate electricity when used.

The power generated by a typical 30-minute workout is enough to power a laptop for one hour, according to the ReRev website. All of the power generated will be used by the Recreation and Wellness Center to help lower the university's electric bill.

E.Co is also discussing purchasing a piezoelectric dance floor for future events at UCF. The dance floor, which generates power when stepped on, will also be used to help power UCF and, like the ellipticals, will reduce energy costs.

E.Co is also working on creating the Green Graduates Certification Program for students, Belilty said. The program, which is currently being reviewed by the registrar's office, will reward students who complete the program with a certificate in addition to special cords that can be worn during graduation.

E.Co holds its monthly meetings on the first Monday of each month; its next monthly meeting will be held next Monday, Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Key West Ballroom, Room 218 in the Student Union. For more information on E.Co, its official Facebook page is www.facebook.com/e.coUCF.