I’ve been very supportive in the past of Luther College and its efforts on the students’ behalf to lessen our carbon footprint. However, I believe this recent measure to eliminate caf trays has gone too far without justified cause. Let me first state that I am off campus this semester studying abroad, so I will be unable to participate in the trial. This being said, I understand that this initial test is not permanent, but please understand that more is at stake philosophically than the mass chaos I anticipate will ensue from the increased congestion, angry and rushed college students and stressed student workers (Lord help you if you try to enact this during finals or midterm week!).

I believe there is a fundamental problem with enacting legislation of this sort on any level of government. One of the essential functions of Luther College is to prepare us to enter a world with vast unforeseen possibilities. By simply taking away our trays, you do a great disservice to the student body in teaching us to consider our choices and the consequences that come along with them. Never in real life will we have someone sitting over our shoulder telling us to turn off the water while we brush our teeth or purchase a vehicle that is more environmentally friendly. These and countless others are all decisions we will have to make on our own.

The Luther College Mission Statement supports the structure of a student body taught to think independently. It states that students should receive “an education that disciplines minds and develops whole persons equipped to understand and confront a changing society.” Global climate change is an issue that is changing our society, but as growing adults, we all need to decide for ourselves how best to address this problem. Our education at Luther extends far beyond the classroom. The small individual choices we make now, such as how we choose to save energy in the caf, help us to develop the discipline we will need for much greater issues later in life.

I urge you when making this decision to consider the kind of precedent it sets in student legislation. I am certain that waves of uproar will be sent through the student body for something as seemingly trivial as this. But I hope you see how it has so many more implications than saving a little money in the dining services budget. Additionally, I hope you can sort through the inconsequential and frustrated student responses to hear some alternatives brought forth that have both merit and potential. I implore everyone in the student body to make environmentally educated decisions, but I didn’t come to Luther College to be told what to believe or how to act. Thank you for service to the students, and I wish you wisdom and fortitude as you make your decisions on this matter.

Matthew Olson (‘10)