The ASUO Vice President and Secretary of Sustainability reflect on their resolution passed on Nov. 29 and look at the future of UO sustainability and the next steps in the thermal heating system transition. 

The resolution, titled “A Calling for a Fossil-Free Campus Heating System,” was unanimously passed during the ASUO meeting on Nov. 29. The resolution shows ASUO’s and the student body’s support of option four of the Thermal Heating System Transition.

An ASUO resolution is a formal statement or organization-wide stance on something official. However, resolutions are not binding to university decision-making but instead, a coherent student opinion about an issue or topic, according to ASUO Vice President Finn Jacobson.

This resolution shows the support of option four, the heat recovery chiller, as an alternative source. This heating system uses hot water instead of steam, and is the most affordable of the four options.

ASUO unanimously passed the resolution, and many senators are happy. ASUO Secretary of Sustainability Rachel Withers is pleased about the result and is proud to say ASUO is officially supporting option four.

“Having the official acknowledgement that everyone is in support of it was very heartwarming because not only do they care about my initiatives and the things that I am working on, but they also care about the environment and the direction the school goes in,” Withers said.

Jacobson said half of the university’s carbon emissions come from their heating system. He felt that option four has the most long-term and stable impact on the university’s carbon emissions.

“Choosing the right option in this project is extremely imperative to having any sustainable future at all,” Jacobson said. “Coming up with a solution that increases the sustainable capabilities of a system such as [option four] is important, and I think a lot of people don’t realize the importance of investing.”

ASUO senators included an amendment in the resolution stating that they do not want the project to impact students’ tuition in the future, Withers said.

“We added that part because we believe the school can find funding from donors, government grants or things like that, rather than immediately jumping towards raising students’ tuition,” she said. “We think the other options are very feasible and it’s unfair to students to place most of the burden of the cost on them.”

Jacobson believes ASUO had some big successes with sustainability this semester. These successes include the electrification rally, the letter ASUO signed with Fossil Free Eugene and the community forum hosted by the thermal task force.

“I think this has set us up well for more developed advocacy in the coming terms, and I’m really excited,” he said.
Looking forward, Withers hopes ASUO can keep statements about things like this private because she wants the university to reach a point where they do not need students fighting for sustainability. However, she is fully supportive of students making their voices heard.

“I hope the school will at some point reach a point where they don’t need students to be fighting for them to choose true sustainability,” she said. “I hope the school will want to initiate that themselves and do what’s best for students.”

The transition of the thermal heating system will heat up next term as the thermal heating systems task force prepares a consensus about which option to recommend to President Scholz and, by extension, the Board of Trustees. ASUO will continue to educate students about the transition and working with the task force, Withers said.

Looking beyond the transition of the thermal heating system, Jacobson wants to develop strong partnerships with many student and local organizations, like the Climate Justice League, a student organization responsible for the UO electrification rally and many of the fossil-free UO campaigns. 

ASUO will be heavily involved with the task force in the new year. Students can attend the forums on Jan. 16 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm or Jan. 17 from 12:30 to 2:00 pm. ASUO plans to communicate with the student body as they receive more updates from the task force.