By Matt Miranda
If one goes by appearances and marketing, the University of Minnesota might as well change its colors to gold, maroon, and green. The university certainly seems to be a veritable bastion of environmentally progressive thought: according to public relations releases, the Twin Cities campus is one of the greenest in the nation, with subsidized public transit, 75 E85-powered and 53 hybrid vehicles in its fleet, on-campus farmer’s markets, and even a minor in Sustainability Studies. The University Dining Service purchases 18 percentof its food locally. There’s even a student-run organic farm. At first blush, our august institution certainly looks to be leading the way into a bright, green-tinted future, with CFL light bulbs illuminating kitchen tables everywhere and solar panels on every roof.
So why is U of M Biology, Science, and Environment major and local/organic food activist David Rittenhouse dissatisfied?
The answer is that it’s all PR spin. Rittenhouse says the university supports a few sustainability programs, and then “cleverly words” PR copy to make it appear far more representative of the school as a whole. “If we want to see change, we’ll first have to expose all the lies, and then offer solutions for …
Read more →
