Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, November 18, 2004, Page 4, Image 4

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Campus group continues
sustainable house hunt
The center has resource-conserving plans for house,
but no University-oumed properties are available
BY JON ITKIN
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
James Hiebert wants a house.
Hiebert, a co-director of the Center
for the Advancement of Sustainable
Living, says a student-maintained
home is the ideal way to foster sus
tainable values.
Since its inception, CASL has
been working to gain usage of one
of the University-owned properties
in the East Campus neighborhood
to serve as a living space, class
room, research facility, studio and
workshop location.
CASL members would modify the
house in ways that would increase
energy efficiency (their goal is to re
duce energy consumption from
non-renewable resources to zero);
reduce waste through composting,
recycling and other methods; curb
water use with rain-collecting de
vices; increase self-sufficiency with
greenhouses; and reduce natural
resource consumption by purchas
ing used building materials.
And they plan to do it all on a
relatively low budget.
“Forming good habits at home is
one of the best things we can do to
make a difference in the world,”
Hiebert said. “We might not realize
it, but an incredible amount of re
sources is consumed in houses and
other buildings. Once good habits
are established in our daily lifestyle,
we take them everywhere we go.”
Started in 2002 by former gradu
ate student Jo Rogers, CASL’s imper
ative is to “demonstrate ecologically
and socially sustainable technolo
gies and living practices in a resi
dential setting.”
Much of the inspiration behind
the CASL house project comes from
the Campus Center for Appropriate
Technology, a sustainable living
project at Humboldt State Universi
ty, in California. Since 1978, CCAT
has maintained a home on the
Humboldt State campus.
Miah Mann, the CCAT project en
gineer and botanist, said its purpose
is to provide “opportunities and ex
amples of how to live more lightly
on society within an urban environ
ment.” The program has been suc
cessful, reducing energy use and
waste production to 5 percent of the
average home while having consis
tent student support.
“CCAT has also been a major
point in attracting prospective stu
dents to Humboldt,” Mann said.
Many University faculty members .
have expressed approval for the
CASL plan. Vice President for Ad
ministration Daniel Williams gave
the organization a letter of commit
ment in August of 2003.
No permanent location has been
set aside for the house. CASL mem
bers say this is because the house
would be a combination of a living
space and a classroom, which cre
ates problems for University Hous
ing. Also, the University is still con
sidering development options for
the east campus area.
“CASL has good support within
the administration, but the plan for
east campus is not yet complete,”
said Robert Melnick, dean of the
School of Architecture and Allied
Arts. “In my view we have come a
long way, but there is obviously still
further to go.”
Housing: New responsibilities merit raises
Continued from page 1
management, warranting a refine
ment of written job descriptions and
an increase in salaries, Eyster said.
The University has recently come
under scrutiny for allowing pay rais
es despite a statewide salary freeze
for state employees, but because
those who received a pay raise were
given additional duties as a result of
the restructuring, the pay increases
are within the law, Eyster said.
“When the job changes, the
salary can change,” Eyster said.
Eyster was quick to say the re
structuring in no way reflects on the
abilities of the classified staff —
there was simply a need to “change
leadership to a leadership that’s
more experienced in dealing with
specialized facility maintenance.”
Classified workers, such as the
custodial workers who clean the
residence halls, have been trained
in cleaning family housing units to
broaden their skills, Eyster said,
which in turn should lead to a great
level of efficiency.
Access to one pool of workers
rather than two separate groups will
allow quicker response to whichev
er area of housing is in need of
maintenance or housekeeping.
Eyster said if there is a sudden
surge in the number of vacant units,
the units will not have to sit empty
while an inefficient number of
workers tries to clean them out in a
timely fashion.
Because workers now have
greater flexibility in job duties, “we
can flood that area with staff and
get (the units) turned over more
quickly,” Eyster said.
No major problems have arisen
thus far as a result of the restructur
ing, but Eyster said he is still work
ing out the details and looking for
areas in need of improvement.
“Whenever you make a change,
there’s going to be some folks
who don’t think it’s a good idea,”
Eyster said.
Wayne Moore, the area union
representative for all University
classified employees, said many
University housing employees
have expressed concern with the
change and its subsequent effects
on their workload.
“It’s definitely bringing people
out of the woodwork,” Moore said.
Moore said that University Hous
ing’s classified employees are proud
of the work they do on campus and
are worried the increased workload
is causing them to neglect impor
tant areas of their jobs.
“The big concern is it’s forcing
them to compromise the level of at
tention they put into their other job
areas,” Moore said.
Union organizing is often a slow
process, Moore said, and the group
has yet to decide what action, if
any, is needed to take on the issue.
A union meeting will be held
soon after Thanksgiving to further
discuss the issue.
Eyster said he is aware that some
employees are upset about the re
structuring and is open to discus
sion about possible remedies or
changes that might need to be made
to satisfy all employees.
“It wasn’t the intention in that re
structure to make their jobs harder
than what their job description
specifies,” Eyster said.
The University’s Human Re
sources department has an employ
ee who specializes in examining job
classifications and recommending
changes.
Any worker who believes his or
her job description is in need of re
classification can contact a supervi
sor, the Human Resources depart
ment directly or Eyster to request a
review, Eyster said.
If it is discovered an employee
now has a greater workload and
more responsibilities than his or her
job description warrants, the job
will be reclassified or the workload
will be decreased.
“If we had made a mistake, we’ll
correct it,” Eyster said.
meghanncaniff@dailyemerald.com
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