<div class="gmail_quote">Allies may be interested in supporting this rally organized by Students for Environmental Concerns. BD<br><br><br><b>Build the Wind Turbine Now! Rally<br>Friday, Feb 11th<br>11AM
outside Swanlund Admin Bldg</b><br>The University committed to building a
wind turbine this year, but is now in danger of going back on their promise. <br>Hold them accountable and demand a wind
turbine now! <br>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186046988093803" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186046988093803</a><br><br>As many of you know the Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS)<br>
have spent seven years fighting to get the university to install wind<br>
turbines on the south farms. One wind turbine would provide 1% of the<br>
electricity that is used on the UIUC campus. They did the legwork to<br>
get millions of dollars in federal grants and then got those grants<br>
renewed twice as the university dragged its feet; they pushed the<br>
administration even after the project had been killed and got it<br>
reinstated with an explicit commitment to build it this year (though<br>
with increased costs, only one of the original three wind turbines is<br>
slated to be built). Now, the grants are about to expire (and cannot<br>
be renewed again), and the university is threatening to renege on<br>
their commitment unless the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)<br>
commits to spending an additional $700,000 of money gathered by the<br>
campus student sustainability fee on the project. This $700,000 is<br>
over-and-above the amount of money that is needed for paying the<br>
contractors to build and install the windmill; the money will go<br>
directly into the Facilities and Services budget. The SSC has already<br>
devoted $500,000 to funding the turbine directly, thus the total money<br>
from student fees going to fund the turbine project would be $1.2<br>
million.<br>
<br>
This is a blatant attempt by the U of I to strong-arm UIUC students<br>
into giving up money they have volunteered to save to promote<br>
sustainability on campus, and instead use the money to fund the<br>
university's regular operating costs. If this is allowed to continue,<br>
it sets a dangerous precedent where the administration will feel free<br>
to raid the SSC money whenever they feel like it, thus changing a<br>
voluntary student fee into yet another source of revenue for the<br>
university. This kind of racketeering cannot be tolerated, so please<br>
come support the SECS at the following event and insist that the U of<br>
I abide by its public promises to break ground on the wind turbine<br>
project before the sustainability grants expire:<br><br>For more information contact Amy Allen: "Amy Allen" <<a href="mailto:theinkstainedwretch@gmail.com">theinkstainedwretch@gmail.com</a>><br>
</div><br>-- <br>Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.<br>303 W. Locust St.<br>Urbana, IL 61801<br><a href="mailto:briandolinar@gmail.com">briandolinar@gmail.com</a><br>