By Dan Thompson
Contributing Writer

Tuition sucks. Nobody likes to think about having to take out more loans or find more scholarships or grants. Sometimes I wonder, as I’m sure you do, where all the money goes. Soon the student body may have an influence on the school’s spending. This influence would be coming in the way of a “Green Fee.”

A “Green Fee” is a charge directly added to tuition, in a visible way, which goes toward making Berklee a more sustainable school. Other schools around the country have taken similar action in different ways. The University of North Carolina created a green dorm floor in the Morrison dorm which is environmentally conscious, paid for with a $4 per semester student fee; Harvard University purchased renewable energy for particular buildings with a $5 per semester fee; and Evergreen State College has an energy policy which requires the purchase of power from renewable sources, paid for with a $1 per credit policy just to name a few. At Berklee, this fee would most likely be $10 per semester used to create sustainable energy on campus and reduce our carbon footprint.

The first project to receive funding from this fee would be solar thermal panels for the 270 Commonwealth dorm. By adding these water heating solar panels the school would reduce its carbon output by over 50 tons a year.

To help make Berklee Greener, the school is asking for student input. In the spring, the student body will have the opportunity to participate in discussions about the green fee and give insight on what they would like to do with the money. The subsequent ideas for the fee and amount of interest in supporting the fight against the climate crisis will help determine what this fee will look like and how far it will go to make Berklee a greener place.

Everyone dislikes paying higher tuition and related fees, but wouldn’t it be nice to know that your money is going directly to something you support and help control?

If you are interested in helping make Berklee a greener place, please contact seamberklee@gmail.com or the “Student Environmental Action Movement” on Facebook.