Oswego State Auxiliary Services has implemented new changes in the dining facilities on campus in an effort to move toward a more sustainable establishment.
The changes within the dining facilities include replacing plastic souffle cups with paper ones, replacing plastic straws with paper ones, replacing plastic stirrers with wooden ones, allowing customers to use reusable mugs when taking out beverages rather than using disposable cups and eliminating polystyrene plastic materials from resident dining locations.
Student Association President Omar van Reenen worked with students to advocate for sustainable practices during his then-position as director of diversity, equity and inclusion. At the time, the bill to eliminate plastic cups from the dining halls and to make sustainable changes was voted down.
“Fighting for the environment is hard to do because it is a faceless fight… That’s why it was a hard movement to bring about,” van Reenen said. “I want the students to know it was worth it.”
Students voiced their thoughts on sustainability in the dining facilities last year in Student Association and during a town hall meeting with Oswego State President Deborah Stanley. As a result of their grievance, the president’s advisory group on sustainability in dining services was formed.
The committee consists of Tim Braun, Director of Facilities Services Maintenance and Operations Mary DePentu, Auxiliary Services General Manager Michael Flaherty, biological sciences major Linden Merrill and recently retired Executive Assistant to the President Howard Gordon.
Last April, the committee proposed changes to the dining facilities, and the president’s council approved them before Auxiliary Services implemented them.
“There had been conversations [about sustainability], but this was the first time we had an organized environmental scan: What can we do? What is feasible?” Flaherty said. “I don’t think we have a lot of plastic use in the dining centers. I mean, we have the plastic cups for people who want to take a beverage out.”
The previous policy enforced in dining facilities was that customers could not use a reusable travel mug or water bottle due to potential health code violations. If a customer wanted to bring a drink outside the dining facility, it was necessary to use the provided hot cup or plastic cup. The new policy allows customers to use reusable mugs and cups, as long as they do not have contamination-causing tops. The cup needs to have either a twist top or a flip top in which the mouth does not touch.
“On behalf of the office, we are extremely excited and supportive of the sustainability initiatives that Auxiliary Services has undertaken,” said Jamie Adams, planning coordinator for Oswego State Office of Sustainability. “These may seem like small changes, but they have a huge impact, and the thought, planning and responsiveness of Auxiliary Services to the student interest in plastic waste reduction is impressive.”
Student Association has created two new positions to place an emphasis on the importance of sustainability. The director of sustainability, Lucas Grove, and the assistant director, Ceseley Mulligan, both of whom are previous senators, will work with SA to educate and encourage students to make more sustainable choices.
“We as college students need to model ourselves as global citizens and as people who can uplift the community,” van Reenen said. “It starts with the little things, and it transpires into the bigger things about becoming more conscious about your carbon footprint.”
The president’s advisory group on sustainability in dining services will meet again this semester to further discuss what sustainable practices can be developed in the dining facilities.
“There is no shortage of ways to be and become more sustainable as a campus and a community, but like anything else, these changes are made incrementally,” Adams said. “These new practices and initiatives are indicative of Auxiliary Services’ commitment to sustainability and their openness to continually assessing and adjusting their practices.”
