"Green" Doesn't Fly in Big Orange Country

One of the great (or annoying, depending on your point of view) things about college is that there always seems to be some sort of controversy raging. Someone is always crusading for some (allegedly) noble cause, or fighting some perceived injustice. Our great University of Tennessee is no different. The latest scandal to hit Big Orange Country has been the “green power” initiative, and the UT administration’s refusal to embrace it.

The proposal was sponsored by Students Promoting Environmental Action in Knoxville (SPEAK), and was voted on by the student body during the spring semester. The initiative would add an additional $8 to our tuition each semester, which would be used to fund cleaner forms of energy. During the SGA elections, it passed by a vote of 4,117 to 3,022. Now, however, the administration says it will not be recommended to the UT Board of Trustees, much to the chagrin of SPEAK.

As someone who suffers from asthma, I can appreciate the need for clean air. Knoxville is a polluted city, and this is a problem that should be addressed. Having said that, forcing us to pay another fee for a non-education related cause should not be the goal of the university. Dictionary.com defines tuition thusly: “A fee for instruction, especially at a formal institution of learning.” Not a word in there about clean air.

I can understand the frustration of SPEAK. More students did vote for the resolution than voted against it. However, let’s examine those numbers. First of all, there are around 26,000 students at UT. To say that 4,117 represent the entire student body is a bit of a stretch. Had, say, 13,000 or so voted “yes,” then it would be fair to say that UT is ignoring the will of the students. However, that did not happen. 4,117 is only a tiny minority of 26,000.

The second problem with this vote is that it basically amounts to students voting to spend other people’s money. Most UT students are not paying their own way through college. They are either using their parents’ money, financial aid, or scholarships. There is nothing wrong with this; however, it seems a bit unfair that we should be able to decide how to spend other people’s money.

Some may argue that it is only an $8 fee, which, in the grand scheme of things, does not amount to very much. That is true. However, if history is any indication, low taxes (which is essentially what this amounts to) do not remain low for very long. The fee would almost certainly be increased in the future, probably eventually to the point that it may deny some poor students the opportunity to come to UT. That would be a tragedy. Education is far more important than green power.

All this is not to say that SPEAK’s proposal does not have some merit. We can all agree that clean air is a good thing. But it should not be funded via a tax on students. There is a better way to do it.

What is a better way? I’m glad you asked. Using simple math, I have determined that the amount of money generated by SPEAK’s fee would be just over $400,000 a year. This is a large sum of money, but not an amount that couldn’t be raised. Instead of taxing the students, SPEAK and other environmentally conscious groups and individuals could spread the word across the state, and make their case to the citizenry for the need for cleaner energy. They could take donations to fund it. I have no doubt that $400,000 a year could be raised in such a manner. The people of Tennessee have historically been generous in giving to worthy causes, and I see no reason they wouldn’t do the same here. Yes, it would certainly be more work than simply forcing everyone to pay a fee, but worthwhile goals seldom come easily. Plus it would be much more rewarding for those involved.

It is somewhat surprising that the UT administration hasn’t jumped on the “green power” bandwagon. Generally, universities eat this sort of kind of thing up. It is refreshing to know that, on this topic at least, the administration is still looking out for us (No matter how many times I read this last sentence, it still sounds weird).

- John Brown (www.johnnorrisbrown.com) is a senior in political science and history at the University of Tennessee @ Knoxville. He can be reached at johnnyb325@aol.com. This column originally ran in the June 22, 2004 edition of The Daily Beacon entitled "Clean air act not so generous," and is available here.