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Syracuse University’s Student Association has formed a new sustainability committee that will focus on environmental issues on campus.

SA Vice President Ryan Golden started discussions about creating the committee after noticing SA’s lack of action on sustainability-focused initiatives in recent years.

“I wanted to create the committee due to SA’s lack of leadership in the area on campus from the past few years and thought this was one position that could ameliorate that,” said SA Vice President Ryan Golden.

Alyssa Quintero, a senior majoring in chemistry and environment, sustainability and policy, will lead the committee. Quintero said she’s passionate about environmental issues and already has several plans for the upcoming semester.

Quintero’s first initiative is to expand the Gotcha Bike service to other locations on campus to encourage students to avoid using cars and reduce their carbon footprints, she said.

SA began an initiative last year to subsidize the cost of Gotcha Bikes for SU students. There are currently several different hubs on campus, including one outside the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

Quintero would also like to place signs on trash cans around campus indicating what waste should go in different bins. Quintero said she worries that students are not aware of how to properly dispose of waste. Adding signs could increase awareness and clear up confusion, she said.

“Right now, all they say is paper, trash and recycle,” Quintero said. “I think signs indicating what goes where would be really helpful.”

Quintero said one of her biggest initiatives is to remove plastic containers from cafes and dining halls around campus. SU has begun serving food to students in individual grab-and-go containers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

While this seems like a difficult task to achieve, especially given the world’s current circumstances, Quintero said she remains determined to limit the university’s use of single-use plastics.

Quintero also wants to teach the student body about how important environmental issues are.

“Everything that you do impacts the world around you,” Quintero said. “Where you buy your clothes, what you eat, how you get around. I would encourage everyone to be more mindful about where their money is going and their consumption habits.”

The new committee’s first meeting will be this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Published on September 27, 2020 at 11:11 pm

Contact Alexandra: azpollac@syr.edu