Campus implements new sustainability efforts; more to come

Camille Reid - Perspectives Editor

At the beginning of this academic year, William Jewell College cafeteria introduced reusable to-go boxes. The green boxes are part of an eff ort to make William Jewell a more sustainable campus.

Bruce Reed, director of Dining Services, and Steve Anderson, director of Facilities Management and Procurement, spearheaded this change to reusable containers. According to Reed, 700 to-go boxes are in the Cafeteria, with about 300-400 boxes used daily.

The reusable to-go boxes can be used for a one-time fee of $2 (unless the box is lost or thrown away). The container is then returned to the Cafeteria and can be exchanged for either another to-go container or a wooden token that can be redeemed in the future for a container. 

"I have not used the to-go boxes yet, but it shows that William Jewell wants to be more environmentally conscious," Sarah Horn, junior, said.

The boxes used last year were biodegradable containers. Reed, however, noted that the used containers were deposited into regular trash bags, not the compostable bags found in the Cafeteria. Thus, the boxes were  not composted. 

"We were using 200 biodegradable containers a day and that equates to 44,000 containers going into the landfill just during the school  year," Reed said.

Some students find the new containers less convenient than the biodegradable boxes.

"I have not used them because you have to carry them around all day. And, they leak. So, some students have gotten their own lunch  boxes and used them in the Cafeteria, but it is nice that there are not any more white boxes in the trash across campus," Horne said.

Sustainability eff orts at William Jewell are the main focus for Reed and Anderson. "There is an inconvenience to it, somewhat, but you know, what it is accomplishing is keeping containers out of the landfi ll every year and this is a huge change," Reed said. 

The first step for sustainability at William Jewell was the use of composting. "I have been tracking [compost efforts] since mid-february. We have composted since then 21,000 pounds," Reed said. the use of composting marked the fi rst step in the College's sustainability efforts. "If we are composting, we do not need garbage disposals. It uses a lot of water and electricity. We now try to minimize the time for when [the garbage disposal] is on," Reed said. 

Before beginning work at William Jewell in November, Anderson worked for the City of Liberty as city planning director. His past  experience helped him to start up William Jewell's sustainability eff orts. "I was brought in mainly through Dr. [Andy] Pratt, [vicepresident for Religious Ministries and dean of the Chapel]. 

Reed and I work closely together as colleagues, and what I have learned coming in is that the first place to hit with this sustainability is the Dining Hall, Anderson said." 

There is a financial benefit as well as an ecological benefit to these sustainability efforts. "Tracking water usages and electricity sites, and improving recycling eff orts on campus are the focus for the upcoming  year," Anderson said.

Sustainability eff orts here at William Jewell are suggestions made by those on campus. "I think that the more that the students get  involved the better off we all are, and I say this because a lot of what we do is user-generated," Anderson said. 

Camille Reid can be reached at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Student Bill of Rights not binding; Senate, students express concern

Trista Turley

Managing Editor

The William Jewell College Student Handbook contains some of the most important information relevant to student life, ranging from the location and hours of key campus services to the recently instituted Honor Code. Included in the Handbook is the Student Bill of Rights. In six sections, the bill outlines the rights that students may expect to enjoy without interference from the administration, faculty or Board of Trustees. These rights include the freedom of expression, freedom from discrimination and the right to receive a degree upon fulfilling the College's graduation requirements.

Recently, a group of students learned that the Student Bill of Rights is not a binding College policy. The administration, faculty and Board of Trustees are not legally obligated to abide by it, according to T. Andrew Smith, sophomore and secretary and treasurer of Straights and Gays for Equality.

Smith found out that the Student Bill of Rights is not binding College policy when he attempted to petition Ernie Stuffl ebean, assistant dean of students and director of Residential Life, to institute a gender-neutral housing policy on campus.

"The argument of my proposal says that because the Student Bill of Rights says that (the College) cannot discriminate on the basis of sex or sexual orientation, they should at least off er the option for housing where you can room with anyone of any gender if you want to," Smith said. "(Stufflebean) told me that is not how the Student Bill of Rights worked."

According to Smith, Stufflebean explained that the Student Bill of Rights has not been ratified by the College's Board of Trustees, and is therefore not binding College policy. The document is merely an expression of the philosophy of the Student Senate and student body and functions as a set of guidelines.

Dr. Rick Winslow, vice-president for enrollment and student aff airs, confirmed this information. "(The Student Bill of Rights) is not a legally binding document that binds the Board of Trustees or the College administration to the specific language," Winslow said. "It is a framework or a set of guidelines that informs the administration as it creates policy or amends or changes policy. 

Over (the bill's) 40 or so years of existence, I think the College has done a very good job of creating policies or amending policies consistent with the intent of the Bill of Rights."

Student Senate ratifi ed the Student Bill of Rights in 1977. While the faculty, administration and Board of Trustees voted to recognize the bill, the Board never offi cially adopted the bill as College policy. Yet many students are unaware that the bill is not binding upon College offi cials. 

Until recently, these students included the Student Senate cabinet. "We were not aware of the fact that (the bill) was not the policy of the College," Tori Odell, senior and president of Student Senate, said. "It was actually (Smith) and Adam (Al Douri, junior and president of SAGE) who, about two weeks ago, brought it to my attention."

Smith believes that the confusion in the nature and purpose of the Bill of Rights can be attributed to the vagueness of the language in the bill as well as the student handbook. Section six of the bill reads, in part, "The Bill of Rights shall be recognized by the faculty, administration, and Board of Trustees as the students' expectations of all members of the William Jewell College community."

Winslow agreed that the language of the handbook was unclear. 

"I can see how, because (the Bill of Rights) exists in writing within the student handbook, students might believe it is a legally binding document," he said. "I think it is fair for students to request that be clarified." Earlier this week, the College administration amended the portion of the handbook concerned with the Student Bill of Rights to read, in part, "The Student Bill of Rights sets forth expectations developed by Student Senate and are not ratified by the College's administration or Board of Trustees as College policy."

For some students, this clarification is not sufficient. Last week, Student Senate established a Student Bill of Rights task force. The task force consists of both senators and non-senators and is charged with drafting a proposal to have a Bill of Rights ratifi ed by the Board of Trustees as binding College policy by the end of the 2010-2011 academic year. Odell anticipates the task force will function similarly to the Student Senate task force responsible for drafting the College's alcohol policy two years ago.

Winslow said he is not sure how the Board of Trustees will react to the proposal, but insists that, while the Student Bill of Rights is not College policy, no current practices of the policies or administration contradict the spirit of the bill. "I don't think there are any examples of the College not adhering to the intent of the language," he said. "I don't think there's any behavior from the administration or Board of Trustees that indicates that they will veer away from making sure the document is honored."

Odell indicated that Student Senate may hold a town meeting in the near future regarding the status of the Student Bill of Rights, and encourages the student body to actively express any concerns. 

Trista Turley can be reached at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Students give feedback on potential homecoming changes; Student Affairs continues considerations for next year

May 6, 2011 – Kasia Kovacs – Chief Copy Editor

Student Senate and the Office of Student Affairs invited student input in the potential restructuring of Homecoming during a town hall meeting on April 20.

The William Jewell College town hall meeting was the most recent endeavor of Student Affairs in an effort to communicate with the student population about Homecoming, particularly regarding a possible change from the Greek and Independent paired teams to a class-based competition. No decision has yet been made; however, members of Student Affairs will be meeting with the Homecoming Committee next week in order to review student opinions and suggestions.

Read more: Students give feedback on potential homecoming changes; Student Affairs continues considerations...

Gotzon to debut senior production of O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten"

April 29, 2011 – Tara Moreland– Managing Editor

Tonight and tomorrow evening, Aaron Gotzon, senior, will present the culmination of his theatre career at William Jewell College with his production of "A Moon for the Misbegotten," written by Eugene O’Neill. The play is the sequel to O’Neill’s "Long Day’s Journey into Night."

Gotzon, a theatre major, explained that the themes of "A Moon for the Misbegotten," despite the script being 70 years old, are still relevant today.

Read more: Gotzon to debut senior production of O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten"