What would you say Auburn University budgets $23 million a year for?
Athletics, right?
Wrong; it's water and energy usage.
For the fifth year in a row, the Office of Sustainability has organized a month-long energy and water reduction competition they like to call "Sustain-A-Bowl".
It is a competition among the dorms in the Village, Hill and Quad to see who can cut back the most on energy and water usage. Numerous events are held for those residents who choose to participate in order to raise awareness of how we can make a difference in the environment.
Over the last four years, the competition has saved a cumulative amount of $36,000.
"People always tend to think about recycling when they think about sustainability," said Jen Morse, communication and outreach coordinator in the Office of Sustainability. "Don't get me wrong, it plays a major part, but there is so much more to be understood."
The goals for Sustain-A-Bowl 2013 and the month of February are to reduce water and energy usage by 10 percent. Many dorms are well on their way to reaching that goal. However, some are falling behind.
Some of the events that have been held throughout the month of February include a stress reduction seminar, a campus conversation, a bulletin board decoration, a recycling town hall meeting to raise awareness about what to recycle, a movie night (the watching of "Chasing Ice") and an invasive-plant cleanup event called the Parkerson Mill Creek Roundup.
"We usually see a core group of people at the events," said Lauren Long, senior in hotel and restaurant management and RA at Hollifield Hall. "But usually if there's a bigger event, more people will come. They also tend to get more involved toward the end if they have a chance to win."
Residents are encouraged, but not required to participate. However, each hall is awarded points based on attendance. The hall with the highest attendance is awarded 50 points for each event. Also, the halls are scored using a 100-point scale on their decrease of water and energy usage, as well as increase of recycling.
The results of water reduction through three weeks for each dorm area are as follows: In the Village, Plainsman Hall is in the lead with a 12-percent reduction. In the Hill, Dobbs Hall is in the lead with a 23-percent reduction. And in the Quad, Glenn Hall is in the lead with an 18-percent reduction.
On the other hand, the results of energy reduction look like this: In the Village: Eagle Hall, Tiger Hall and Talon Hall are all tied with a 7-percent reduction. In the Hill, Leischuck Hall is in the lead with a 31-percent reduction. And in the Quad, Broun Hall is in the lead with a 32-percent reduction.
"It has really opened my eyes to what kind of a difference I can make," said Jordan Orris, freshman in interdisciplinary studies and resident of Broun Hall. "From now on I will try to be more conscious about what kind of impact on the environment I am making."
Many of these races are very close, and at this point it is almost any dorm's competition to win. To see the results, you can visit www.ausustainabowl.weebly.com. Or, you can follow the Twitter feed #2013ausustain and the Facebook group 2013 Sustain-A-Bowl. The competition will conclude on Feb. 28.
At the end of the month, a winner will be named from each dorm area and will be invited to attend a winner's party, likely on March 4.
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