As a new faculty member at Elon and a new resident to North Carolina, there is an urgent matter I would like to share with students, faculty members and administration.

The environmental issues plaguing this state bring me deep concern. Record temperatures and drought conditions have initiated 100 percent watering restrictions in many counties, and reservoir levels continue to drop. The evidence delivered in “An Inconvenient Truth” on global warming such as rising temperatures, droughts, increasing strength of storms, are especially unmistakable in the southeast region of the country.

Elon is a beautiful campus. I appreciate working in an environment that is nurtured and well taken care of. I believe this inspires students in turn to nurture themselves and to take pride in the work that they do at Elon. It also promotes respect.

However, on several occasions I have noticed the campus lawn being watered to such excess that it was virtually a swamp. Given the conditions plaguing this state at the moment, is it not excessive, and a privilege we cannot afford, to water our lawns to such a degree?

I have also noticed sprinklers not contained to plantings alone, but also watering the walkways. Would the beauty of our campus truly suffer if the lawns surrounding our buildings were somewhat dry as they are in much of the state? Would this campus still inspire students and faculty members? I would say “yes” because I would like to think we stand for values that go beyond appearances.

I am aware that Alamance County possesses water reserves that surrounding counties do not have. The county was asked, but not required, to restrict water. However, if the evidence Gore cites in “An Inconvenient Truth” is on target, these reserves may be necessary in the coming years as record high temperatures persist and the climate continues to change.

Advocating sustainability and making efforts toward conservation while simultaneously excessively watering the campus sends the message to students that these values are not our number one priority, that they are negotiable, and that appearances matter most of all.

In a recent article in The Pendulum, “Elon Goes Green,” several wonderful objectives were outlined, from conserving electricity and paper to recycling. What modifications can be made to Elon’s campus that will also help conserve energy and resources, while still maintaining the beauty that we are so known for?

The range of grass health is wide, we do not have to think of it as “lush and green” versus “dead.” Grass grows back after a dry spell and turns green again. Water can also be better contained to saturate only the soil supporting new plantings so young trees and shrubs are not sacrificed.

And regarding new plantings, perhaps Elon would also consider not rotating them out so often, since new plantings require greater resources than established plantings.

Another idea is to restrict sprinkling to only cooler evenings, when water will not burn off in the heat. This brings up further issues: is Elon also using non-petroleum-based fertilizers? We are, after all, making efforts to move away from petroleum-dependent university cars.

I was disheartened to overhear a student this afternoon talking about Elon’s priorities with prospective students and their parents on a campus tour. Pointing to a large area around Carlton with several sprinklers actively watering grass, flowerbeds and walkways, she described Elon’s number one priority: keeping the campus beautiful for its students. I believe a balance is possible here. Beauty does not have to be sacrificed to conserve our resources.

I implore Elon’s students, faculty members and administration to consider this matter. This is an important issue to address if we are indeed a university that strongly values conservation and sustainability.

Assistant Prof. of Art: Samantha DiRosa - 09/26/07