Dreams of a green campus

The Pipeline is not much for sentimentality so when we decided to participate in this year's Blog Action Day it was because we had something very specific in mind.

This year's theme is the environment and it just so happens that The Pipeline has been researching some ideas that would make UVSC a leader in Green Technologies, and at the same time revitalize the school's diminishing Trades program.

Imagine a construction program that featured the latest resources in Green technology, LEED certification, and hands-on experience in environmental projects. Imagine an automotive department that valued MPG over MPH.

For the past five years the administration has been pushing the trades program to look more like a college and less like a trade school. All the while UVSC's traditional trades programs, such as welding, have diminished; losing market share to cheaper alternatives like the Mountainlands Applied Technology Center.

It is is time to cut off programs that refuse to innovate, and replace them with programs that feature green technologies. UVSC's trades graduates would be in high demand in an expanding industry that is in desperate need of qualified LEED craftsmen. Why not prepare students for this opportunity?

And what better place for students to practice using these new materials and techniques than right here on campus. Many colleges across the country have completed retrofitting projects that have brought their facilities up to LEED's gold standard. Why not UVSC? Students from our programs could work side by side with contractors, learning these techniques and gaining valuable hands-on experience.