Some feel Vanderbilt exists as a school with a reactionary veneer — a school that outwardly appears so conservative that some students feel cultural change, particularly of a progressive variety remains impossible, which limits efforts to the contrary.

The environmental movement hasn’t missed Vanderbilt and anyone who has been over to Peabody would attest to that. But one building simply is not enough and it isn’t going to change the culture around campus.

Students perceive the efforts of groups like SPEAR as futile pursuits, wasted on a progressive endeavor limited to a very small subset of the Vanderbilt community. This is a rash conclusion, however. The campus has seen grassroots efforts by various groups, from sorority houses to the Vanderbilt Law School, and from classroom initiatives in both the HOD and public policy areas. Among these students, there is a snowball effect; subtly, numerous groups on campus have made sizeable change.

Clearly, The Commons serves as nearly a beacon of environmental advocacy in the college atmosphere, both for our campus and for the nation. While the significance of this is not lost on Vanderbilt students, the administration has seen less success in efforts to make the green movement relevant and integral to student culture.

The administration can significantly enhance the efficacy of student-led efforts of both the recent past and near future. By recognizing the specific successes of the groups and enveloping environmental efficiency and conservation into the fundamental values of the institution, the environmental advocacy can become natural and habitual, rather than forced, minimal efforts for many students. Without a genuine push to increase the perceived importance of conservation, the admirable changes to the infrastructure and the ideas behind The Commons will fade into a wasted exercise.