Talking Stick - March/April 2009 - 10

Just in Students who dine at the University of Texas in Austin’s Kinsolving Dining Hall are participating in a revolutionary practice that takes their food right back to the farms. UT is the first university to test the Somat eCorect composting machine, which has been operating on a trial basis in Kinsolving since August 2008. The machine dehydrates, heats, and compresses leftover food into a tobacco-like substance that can be added to the compost piles of local produce farmers and used as fertilizer. This would create a food cycle, as 10 percent of the produce used at UT comes from local farmers. The machine, which would cost the university $200,000 to put in each dining hall on campus, fits inside the dish room, so waste does not have to be transported before it is decomposed. The biodegradable dishes and tableware can be decomposed in the composter, but plastic items like straws and candy wrappers cannot. This poses a concern, as the waste in the machine must be 98 percent biodegradable, so staff members are working on ways to educate students about biodegradability and different products. The Division of Housing and Food Service (DHFS) at UT has been a leader of campus sustainability, partly due to their Environmental Action Team (EAT), consisting of staff members from all areas of DHFS, which works to implement environmental initiatives within DHFS. They have contributed to many recent sustainability projects, such as UT’s Bottled and Canned Beverage Policy, which was implemented in August 2008. Bottles and cans are no longer allowed at programs, meetings, or events. Instead, beverages are served in bulk containers, and students and staff are issued their own personal drinking vessel to bring to gatherings. “We tell people it’s BYOV – ‘Bring Your Own Vessel,’” says Floyd Hoelting, director of housing and food services. “There has been a very strong component of participation from everyone. If they forget their container, then they learn. It’s a great teaching moment.” Hoelting is looking forward to permanently installing the Somat eCorect into every dining hall starting in August 2009, and he hopes to rally students to generate their own ideas for sustainability. “Students are into this,” says Hoelting. “I’ve been in the career for 35 years, and I have never witnessed a trend with students as committed than the green initiative. Students are the greatest advocates.” To learn more about the Somat eCorect, visit www.somatcompany.com. To learn more about the environmental initiatives within the DHFS of the University of Texas, visit www.utexas.edu/student/housing/environment. NINg gREE uSES AMp c New Composter Tested First at UT Reauthorization Recap There has been some activity in the U.S. Congress over this last year that affects the student housing field. Here is a brief recap to get you up to speed on what has happened and what is coming. The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) was enacted on August 14, 2008, when President Bush signed H.R. 4137, reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended. The HEOA makes a number of changes to programs authorized under the HEA, authorizes new programs, and makes changes to other laws (see www.ed.gov/HEOA). These were all effective upon enactment on August 14, 2008, which requires institutions to make a good faith effort to comply with the act’s provisions. Several of these provisions will directly impact the work of housing officers in the U.S., specifically in the areas of campus safety, fire safety, and missing persons. Campus Safety: In response to the shootings at Virginia Tech and other tragic events, the act expands institutional reporting requirements under the Clery Act to include (1) reports of written agreements between a higher education institution and state and local law enforcement agencies and (2) a statement on the institution’s policies regarding immediate emergency response and campus evacuation procedures. Fire Safety: The act requires institutions with oncampus housing to publish annually a fire safety report which provides statistics on a residencehall-by-residence-hall basis. The report, which is to be shared with the campus community and the Secretary of Education, must detail such information as the number of fires, deaths, injuries, fire drills, fire-related property damage, and the type of fire detection system in each building. Missing Persons: The act requires institutions that both participate in any federal higher education programs and maintain on-campus housing to establish a missing student notification policy for students who reside in on-campus housing and have been determined, after an investigation by campus security officials, to be missing for 24 hours. ACUHO-I encourages its membership to pay particular attention to the above issues. For more information on the negotiated rulemaking process now underway, and to follow the department’s implementation of the HEOA, please refer to the department’s HEOA Web site at www.ed.gov/HEOA. The act generally reauthorizes HEA provisions for six years, through September 30, 2014. 10 Talking STick

http://www.ed.gov/HEOA http://www.somatcompany.com http://www.utexas.edu/student/housing/environment http://www.ed.gov/HEOA

Talking Stick - March/April 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - March/April 2009