Charging stations to be added to campus in spring semester
The Utah State University Student Association and the USU sustainability office have been working on creating phone charging stations on campus. The two offices have been working separately on the project, though it started as one idea from a student who put in a suggestion on USU’s myVoice.
The suggestion was for USU to put in multiple phone and computer charging stations throughout campus.
USU’s sustainability office, also known as Blue Goes Green, has done the most so far in making charging stations a reality on campus.
“I did some research and data collection to narrow down a location and then wrote the grant,” said Kody George, a student at USU and a volunteer with the sustainability office. “We have the grant approved for one to be put at the library outside of the Quadside Café. If that one is used and works well, we are going to try and get some put in at the Taggart Student Center, the TSC.”
George said that the grant comes from student fees. There is a $2 to $3 student fee that comes out of student charges and is used solely for sustainable efforts on campus.
The charging station that will be outside of the library will be umbrella-shaped and will use solar energy to charge phones and computers. This charging station, due to being designed by the sustainability office, will be built to be energy-efficient.
“One of the reasons these umbrellas are so cool is that it puts solar energy directly in our hands,” George said. “It allows us to sit outside and enjoy nature while using the power of the sun to also enjoy modern technology. It helps us see that renewable energy can be something that affects us everyday, it’s a very tangible, effective way to be green and energy conscious.”
The USUSA office is in the early planning stages of the projectand is looking to start at the TSC. This charging station will differ from the one built by the sustainability office in that it will most likely only be for charging phones and not computers.
“A subcommittee is currently working on the logistics of the TSC charging station project,” said Madison Maners, the USUSA Public Relations and Marketing director. “Because it’s still quite early in the planning stages, the Executive Council felt it was important to spend time researching different scenarios before moving forward. Discussions have focused around providing a phone charging station, but if we see a need, we’re willing to explore the idea of having computer charging available at these stations as well.”
Maners said that this project is really the brainchild of Student Advocate Vice President Ashley Waddoups. Her subcommittee is looking into possible areas for collaboration with other groups on campus.
Waddoups is in charge of organizing student officers that would like to be involved in the project. She said that she would love to get together with the sustainability office so they can share their ideas and make the charging stations happen.
The sustainability office looks for ways to improve the campus using green, energy efficient methods, while the USUSA looks to improve students college experiences.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve existing structures, and consider technology-related services to be one of those structures,” Maners said. “Utah State has always led the way for student experience, and this project will be an extension of that.”
USU’s myVoice allows students to make suggestions, share their comments and voice their concerns to USUSA. Student advocates — anybody on the academic senate and the executive council — then checks myVoice and gets back to the students.
“A lot of people think that myVoice is just a place to voice a complaint, but it is also a way for students to voice their ideas on how the university can be improved,” Waddoups said. “We really want students to feel they have a voice on campus.”
— jillian.mccarthy@aggiemail.usu.edu