Environmental Council
Minutes of October 11, 2004
Old Chapel 401 ~ 4:30
Attending: Nan Jenks-Jay (Chair), Connie Leach Bisson (Vice-Chair), Anne Knowles, Jeff Munroe, Steve Trombulak, Diane Munroe, Brenda Ellis, Charlotte Tate, Dalal Al-Abdulrazzak '07, Whitney Creed '06, Olivia Katz '07, Sharai Lewis-Gruss '07, Makely Lyon '07, Louis Paolella '07, David Wright '05, Kelly Blynn '07, Sara Dewey '07, Clare O'Reilly '05
Missing: Lance Leduc, John Reed '07
Guests: Tyler Williams '06
The meeting began at 4:35.
- Announcements
Clare announced that Addison County Transit Resources (ACTR) was now providing shuttle service to the Snow Bowl area on Fridays – Sundays and will expand to add Thursdays beginning in January. (ACTR) has 4 stops on campus: Adirondack Circle, Old Chapel, McCullough, and CFA. Shuttle schedules are available from Public Safety and are posted on signs at each stop location. Bicycle racks will be added to these buses shortly due to funding support from the College.
Clare also mentioned that the SGA had endorsed a proposal to organize buses to Boston and New York for Thanksgiving Break. (after the meeting Clare sent a draft of the proposal that is attached at the end of the minutes)
Steve Trombulak referenced President Liebowitz's Inaugural Address and his highlighting of the Environmental Studies program as exemplar of interdisciplinary studies and faculty student interaction.
[Excerpts from President Liebowitz's Inaugural Address October 10, 2004 "But it was the collaborative commitment of those five Middlebury College professors that helped break new ground by establishing an interdisciplinary major at a time when crossing disciplinary boundaries was largely theoretical at the college level. The program today includes 45 faculty members from 22 academic departments, graduates, on average, 45 students a year, and is generally recognized as the model undergraduate environmental studies program in the country.
"The success of the environmental studies program – indeed of any interdisciplinary program – springs from the same source: faculty reaching directly into the student's learning process. Instead of leaving students to their own devices for figuring out how to assemble a plan of study from a set of discrete courses, these faculty members bent and redrew disciplinary boundaries to create a more coherent and integrated way to study the environment."]
- Minutes
The minutes of September 25, 2004 were approved as distributed. [After the meeting Connie realized through correspondence with Anne Knowles that the minutes incorrectly stated the amount of funds available for the Cornwall path. The minutes should read "a total of $10,000" rather than referencing $10,000 from the President's office and an addition $3,000 from Environmental Affairs. This correction was made to the minutes.]
- Environmental Assessment data presentation
Connie and student research assistant Tyler Williams '06 provided a Power Point presentation sharing highlights through graphs, tables and bullets of the information they had amassed over the summer as part of the environmental assessment process. Diane Munroe recorded questions, comments and suggestions that will be used by the Environmental Assessment subcommittee to draft the Environmental Assessment report from this data. Due to time constraints, Tyler and Connie did not complete their presentation of data but recommended moving the work to the subcommittee and returning to the Environmental Council with a more finished product. Charlotte Tate commended Tyler and Connie, noting that the data presented represented a tremendous amount of work completed over the summer.
The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
- Attachment (SGA Thanksgiving Break Shuttles)
[Clare provided an update at the October 25th Environmental Council meeting that the Shuttle Bus would not be going to Logan Airport nor to Albany Airport.]
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE THANKSGIVING BUS SHUTTLE
Author: Clare O'Reilly '05, SGA Director of Environmental Affairs
Andrew Jacobi '05, SGA President
Sponsor: JS Woodward '06, SCCOCC
Date: October 6, 2004
PROPOSAL: Middlebury College SGA will operate a shuttle bus service to New York City and Boston for Thanksgiving break for students returning home.
1) COSTS:
Premier Motorcoach offered a price quote of $1990 roundtrip to Boston and $2900 roundtrip to New York City for a 47-passenger coach bus. Premier is contracted by Athletics to provide transportation for Middlebury College sports teams.
The total cost for both buses is $4890. Subsidizing requests will be made to the five Commons Councils, asking each to contribute $200. SGA Finance Committee will be asked to contribute $500. If all funding is received, the following table outlines what student ticket prices will be in a very conservative, conservative and optimal scenario:
Per Student Pricing Scenario Calculations for Shuttle Services
Assumption: $200 received from each commons, $500 from Finance Committee
|
47 Passenger Bus |
|
# of Passengers |
25 |
40 |
47 |
Boston |
$49.60 |
$31.00 |
$26.38 |
New York |
$86.00 |
$53.75 |
$45.74 |
2) PAYMENT:
CCAL Director Doug Adams has agreed to pay Premier Motorcoach directly after a contract has been drawn up. SGA will be responsible for collecting student payment.
3) SCHEDULE AND LOCATIONS
Buses will leave from Adirondack Circle on Tuesday afternoon, November 23 after 4:15pm which is when Thanksgiving recess officially begins.
The bus route to Boston will include Logan Airport, the Logan Airport T stop, and the South Station T stop. The bus route to New York City will include Albany Airport and final stop will be at Penn Station.
The buses will pickup returning students at a similar location to the drop off spot in Boston and New York on Sunday, November 28, and will return to Adirondack circle.
RATIONALE:
SAVINGS:
This price saves students a great deal compared to other forms of transportation. A one-way Greyhound bus ticket to Logan Airport is $59.00, and $65.00 to New York City. With the rising gas prices, this option is cheaper than driving a car on a full tank of gas (approximately $30) to Boston and New York.
CONVENIENCE:
An SGA sponsored transportation system to these major metropolitan areas will reduce student stress associated with finding a ride home. It will also allow international students an opportunity to leave campus and explore these cities. Stops at Logan and Albany airport also provide students who may be flying out of these with a transportation option.
ENVIRONMENTAL:
In adherence with the College's Carbon Reduction Initiative and Middlebury's Environmental Peak, this mass transit option provides a transportation alternative to cut back on carbon emissions from vehicles. It may also potentially reduce the amount of students who fly from Burlington to these cities, hence cutting back on jet fuel pollutants.