Walk into any dorm room in the winter and the most common sight will be an open window. Go back to your residence hall at night from class or the library and locked, empty academic buildings will be lit up like a Christmas tree. The amount of money that Geneseo unnecessarily wastes every day on unused electricity—that could be used for better purposes—is astounding.
About 76 percent of natural gas usage is spent on heating college buildings, with 17 percent of electrical spent on lighting, according to the Business Energy Advisor. In the 2017-2018 academic year at Geneseo, the utilities bill alone was about $4.5 million, according to the Geneseo 2017-2018 Budget.
Geneseo doesn’t need to spend so much on heating the dorms or the academic buildings. Every classroom is sweltering, and shorts and t-shirts are a common occurrence in the residence halls. There are few who like waking up in the middle of the night sweating or having to strategically plan out what they’ll wear to class to ensure they will be warm enough outside in the freezing wind but won’t melt as soon as they walk through a door.
Lighting is another issue. Most undergrads likely find it ridiculous that secured buildings are still lit even after classes are long over and no one is using them. Of course, the janitorial staff need to keep the lights on, but they still don’t turn off after that.
On Feb. 18, all students, administrators and professors received an email from Geneseo to chip in ideas for ways to save money. At least five key points in the email mentioned lighting issues and another four discussed heating extravagances.
To put it bluntly, the students at Geneseo aren’t comfortable. It benefits the college to change that. Turning down the heat in all buildings would save a large percentage of the utilities cost, and that money could be put to better use, like installing air conditioning in more of the buildings or providing services more students want.
Lighting is more of an issue because safety is a big concern. Of course, exterior lighting is important and lights in residence halls should stay on as well, but they don’t have to be on all the time. In academic buildings, lights could go off as soon as the building is locked and cleaned.
Some students might complain that they don’t have anywhere else to work, but that could be an easy fix. Many students are already pushing for Milne to become a 24-hour study space. If that happened, students wouldn’t have to hide away in Fraser or Sturges, and buildings could get fully shut down—including lights.
As for the dorms, automatic lights could be extremely useful. That way, if occupants are out late or need to venture into the hall in the middle of the night, they won’t have to stumble in the dark and the lights wouldn’t have to be on all the time either. Some residence halls, like Seneca Hall, already have these installed, but it must be implemented in all spaces on campus.
It is pointless to stick with money-wasting practices when faculty and students alike would prefer otherwise. They want to see their money and time go to good use and not be wasted. Certain things might cost more in the beginning to install or arrange, but in the end, money will be saved and the occupants will be more at ease.