campus environment – The Columbia Chronicle

Chicago citizens primed for ‘Amazon Tax’

By Metro Reporter

February 9, 2015

With the grace period for a new law having ended Feb. 1, Amazon will now be collecting sales tax from Illinois customers. Revisions made to the state Use Tax Act now mandate that out-of-state retaile...

John Wawrzaszek (center) accepted the Gold Level Campus Sustainability Compact Award based on the various environmental efforts the college has initiated on campus.

Columbia wins gold for going green

November 17, 2014

In a world evermore concerned with environmentalism and green energy, Columbia is considered at the forefront of sustainability. The college received a Gold Level Campus Sustainability Compact Award Oc...

Neo-’60s heartbreak artist

By Emily Ornberg

November 19, 2012

Kirby Kaiser’s vintage style of music transports listeners to a time of sugary pop melodies seasoned with retro, doo-wop harmonies. Her music may even be mistaken for that of ’60s girl groups like The Supremes and The Shangri-Las. Kaiser, however, is a 19-year-old Boystown resident.Inspired by heartbreak, Kaiser started writing music in high school after Fiona Apple’s songs helped her through boy troubles. She issued her...

Jesse Jackson Jr. re-elected by landslide despite absence

By Emily Ornberg

November 6, 2012

Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been re-elected in Chicago’s 2nd Congressional District, leading the polls by more than 70 percent with approximately 102,300 votes against Republican Brian Woodworth and Independent Marcus Lewis. Jackson, who is the son of civil rights leader and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, has easily won each election in the largely Democratic district since 1995. This will be Jack...

Recycling Program a victim of prioritization

By Tyler Davis

September 4, 2012

The formerly student-run Recycling Program will be seeing some staffing changes this year. Students will no longer be sorting recyclable materials, a task that will now be performed by the school’s custodial staff. The program was created by students and will still have student involvement, but it remains uncertain whether they will continue to have a say in how recycling is carried outon campus.Students started the recy...

Recycling Program salvages 178.5 tons of waste

By Heather Scroering

April 16, 2012

While the college has referred to the Recycling Program in its sustainability plan as “arguably the most robust sustainability-related program at Columbia,” the 10-person operation has been recommended for reorganization since the beginning of the prioritization process.Though the program faces possible staff cuts and decreased funding, the student-operated organization recycled approximately 48 percent of waste on campus�...

Offices relocate to on-campus buildings

By Heather Scroering

March 19, 2012

During a March 15 meeting with the occupants of the 218 S. Wabash Ave. and 1112 S. Wabash Ave. buildings, Alicia Berg, vice president of Campus Environment, announced that the college has broken its lease on the two buildings five years early, and offices will move back to Columbia’s campusthis summer.The move is a “cost saving solution,” saving the college approximately $900,000 per year, Berg told attendees of the meet...

College Council votes to dissolve

By Lisa Schulz

November 7, 2011

Only one attendee objected to the discontinuation of the College Council that will take effect on Dec. 1—its self-proclaimed oldest member, Mark Kelly, vice president of Student Affairs. A torrent of laughter followed a quick, baffled moment of silence before he announced that he was kidding.The College Council began dissolving the minute the meeting started on Nov. 4 in the Hokin Lecture Hall in the Wabash Campus Building...

Funds and spirits raised

By Lisa Schulz

October 31, 2011

Only at Columbia could a night of faculty and staff members voluntarily covered in face paint, fake mustaches and silly masks add up to one of the most productive scholarship fundraisers the college has ever had.Attendees participated in the third annual Faculty and Staff Scholarship fundraiser on Oct. 25 at Stage Two in the 618 S. Michigan Ave. Building. The event included a silent auction, live music and dance, a talent s...

International student body reaches 200

By Heather Scroering

September 26, 2011

Columbia’s international student body has reached a new high with approximately 20 new students coming in this semester from abroad.Last semester, the international student count was 186. This semester, it’s 209, according to Gigi Posejpal, director of International Student Affairs.“They are able to explore [at Columbia],” Posejpal said. “They’re able to approach individuals to ask questions and find people who are willi...

Columbia reveals information on sustainability plan

By Amanda Murphy

April 25, 2011

Columbia used more than 14 million sheets of paper in the last academic year. According to Joe Leamanczyk, project manager of Campus Environment, that equals more than 1,000 sheets of paper per person at the college, including faculty, staff and students.The college’s new sustainability plan evaluates numbers, like that of the paper usage, and is able to show where the college can develop better eco-friendly efforts.Leama...

A line between expression, destruction

By CiaraShook

April 12, 2010

The Office of Campus Environment teamed with Columbia’s Student Government Association to launch a campaign to stamp out vandalism on campus.The campaign intends to bring the amount of money the college spends each year on vandalism repairs to students’ attention.According to Alicia Berg, vice president of Campus Environment, Columbia spent more than $645,000 repairing vandalism damage during the 2008-2009 academic year, which ...