Vol. XX No.11 "Recycle this, BITCH" March 10, 1999 i~Ci MA 4X T w:^.. IA ··-··--~pe ISSUES -------- monsoons_- ~ararwaa~R -rra~*r~ua~%pla -r ~-~------~-4C ~- C-RC~· IB-WHO'S --~--- ~~P - ---- -- -~rm~la~lsl·I~B~B~·lP~ GOTL- C~L~P~s~s~6~~ OURbd - pC_~P- ~-~-····IP·-CPIB-D------~lr-BACK? -~-L~B ~9 1 ~L_~Llb-~·~IP~ ~------ 1~-9- CI·lll eC __LP~·C~IB1-I By Terry McLaren will make it impossible for many to stay in school at we were able to have a productive conversation. all. Remember: If you go part time, no TAP for you! Englebright denounced the proposed cuts "It should be a no-brainer to make college Then there's the incentive to graduate in to SUNY as "pure meanness" and asserted that they accessible to all," said Blair Horner, legislative coor- four years. Yes, it is possible, but not for everyone. It were an assault on the state's brightest promise- dinator for NYPIRG. He addressed an enthusiastic also is not the best choice for some. In order to SUNY. We even got down to chatting about the group of almost 400 students on their way to increase their employment potential, more and more trustees' proposed core curriculum changes. appointments with senators and assembly people. students are choosing double majors. This increases Englebright, a PhD in Geology and USB lecturer, Welcome to Higher Ed Lobby Day. the number of courses they have to take, and there- stated that it's "absurd for politicians' decision mak- When fighting against proposed cuts to fore their time of study. There are also the options of ing to take the place of university scholars' judge- higher education funding, identifying your friends studying abroad or working internships. Both are ment" regarding curriculum. He alsd said to let him and enemies right away is crucial. These visits, and invaluable experiences, but ones that could impede know if we were treated disrespectfully by any of his the evaluation forms people fill out concerning them, McDohald's-speed progress through college. In colleagues. help lobbyists figure out who's in their corner, who is order to get the most out of the college experience, it The other lobbying groups I joined were undecided, and who needs to be turned around. sometimes takes a little longer. not able to meet with the legislators themselves. This Students from all around New York met Once TAP cuts have wounded students, was not necessarily a reflection on the lawmakers' with 207 of 211 the representatives to discuss how the salt is added to said wounds in the form of a 15-cred- opinions on higher ed issues. Senator Seymour governor's proposed budget will affect their lives. it minimum to have full-time status. In order to Lachman of Brooklyn, for example, is a former high Depending on whom they were speaking to, their receive state financial aid, a student may soon have school teacher and SUNY professor. Pro-financial cries fell on sympathetic, ambivalent, or deaf ears. to take three more credits per semester. In theory, aid pins decorated the bulletin board in his office this will help students graduate faster (remember and his chief of staff and counsel, Douglas Perlson, A little background the four year goal). What it will actually do is take listened sympathetically and seemed to express gen- The governor's proposed budget has most some of the state's best minds out of college. Those uine concern. He assured us that Senator Lachman students extremely agitated. Even though New York with heavy job and family responsibilities are would do anything to help SUNY. state is reaping the benefits of a $2 billion budget already stretched to the limit taking twelve credits. M. Scott Cushing, chief of staff for surplus, the governor is calling for a reduction in the Assemblyman Thomas Alfano of Nassau County, maximum TAP (Tuition Assistance Program) award The Visits did not instill as strong a feeling of trust. His from 90% of tuition to 75%. Since TAP goes to those Each student who met with a legislator on answers were typically political, and he wasn't able students with the lowest incomes to begin with, this March 1 laid it on the line for them. The personal to make any specific promises. The assemblyman's cut targets the poorest of the poor and will increase aspects of their lives-divorce, terminally ill parents, enthusiasm for higher ed was a little hard to see. what a student with full TAP has to pay out of pock- unemployment in the family, the struggles of stu- Cushing, however, is a SUNY Cortland graduate, et by 150%. If a student graduates in four years, he dent parenthood-were revealed in order to help and the interns at Alfano's district Albany offices are or she will be reimbursed for the extra 15% they these lawmakers put a face on the budget cuts. These SUNY students. shelled out when they were earning the least. Now stories were not easy to tell, but they were the most Jonn Conklin, an aid to Senator James Lack, that a student has a degree and the ability to earn effective way to say, "I will not have a future if my sat there silently taking notes as we spilled our guts. 73% more than a high school graduate does, they get financial aid is cut." Our group leader didn't even go through the usual the government help they'd needed for the previous Assemblyman Englebright eagerly met introduction before we gave our personal accounts. four years. with my lobbying group and gave us more than a He seemed disinterested and was late for our meet- Many students work already to pay living half-hour of his time. Knowing we were in the office ing to boot. We didn't seem to rock his world all that expenses and tuition. An up to 15% tuition increase of one of SUNY's proponents, the group relaxed and much, but you never know. THE STONY BROOK PRESS PAGE 2 I -PICCt--I C --- d·L~-~-~sll·aew~·~-~111~~ I =~R-~g~B~·*~Psl~gWPe6~8emQ·~---14sla -ea~·rara~io~ls~R-~Ps~-aPan~·-na*~a~,xl~ -- L --------~-·~-~·a~Rua~l~~-~p~-a· · -~·-~a ISSUES REDUCING THE RUBBISH: THE STATE OFCAMPUS RECYCLING By Joanna Wegielnik of municipal solid waste other than in landfills or by agement graduate certificate program in addition to burning it in incinerators. Both of these options have WMI's Master Degree with a concentration in waste obvious environmentally disastrous consequences, management. In addition to WMI and the two pro- How can we dance when our earth is turning? not to mention the fact that nobody really wants a grams, Engineering's Department of Technology and How do we sleep while our beds are burning? Fresh Kills or monstrous incinerators in their back- Society offers a Master's program in technological sys- yard. tems management with an optional focus in waste -Midnight Oil This brings us to the next question, how well management. Technology and Society is also home to does the Stony Brook University community recycle? Prof. Sheldon J. Reaven and Prof. Paul Siegel, both How efficient is the current program? Where does the experts in recycling and waste management. Dr. Recycling is a concept most people are famil- recycled, sorted material go? How can we get students Reaven was coordinator of "Prometheus Project," a iar with. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Sort out plastics from involved in an effective recyNcling program? What can 1990 endeavor aimed at improving recycling on cam- glass from aluminum. Separate newspaper from be done at the residential level? How does our recy- pus. Paul Siegel was a former EHS Recycling printer paper. Put everything in a neat little bin in front cling effort measure up to schools similar in size and Coorcinator and author of "The Realities of Going of your house and have it picked up on a weekly basis. character to Stony Brook? These are just some of the Green: Observations on Recycling Systems at SUNY Most school-age children can recite the three "r's". queries one must ask when attempting to address the Stony Brook," a comprehensive review of the imple- They understand that our planet is in serious danger broad and complex issue of campus recycling. The mentation, or lack thereof, of the "Project if we continue to use it as a personal dumping ground answers to these questions vary, depending on who Prometheus" and recycling trends on our campus. and inexhaustible store of resources. Most adults can you ask In a university that offers no less than three still probably recall the bizarre journey of The Marbo There is a department on campus that specif- graduate programs in waste reduction and manage- barge up and down the eastern seaboard in its quest to ically deals with the operational and practical side of ment, a nationally recognized Waste Management unload a cargo of New York trash in someone else's waste management-EHS or the Department of Institute, a Technology & Society Department, and a backyard. More than any other single event, the Marbo Environmental Health and Safety. EHS is not an widely recognized Department of Ecology and incident forced Americans to seriously think about the agency of the state, nor is it affiliated with the the New Evolution, we recycle maybe 9% of the tons of garbage obscene amount of garbage we produce; environmen- York State Environmental Conservation Department we produce annually. This is an embarrassment to the talism and, more importantly, sustainability entered (NYSDEC).