Creating a greener campus takes a lot of work, and for the University of Ottawa, that has meant a lot of green campaigns. With elections coming back, it’s time to take a look back at previous green campaigns—and who's been helping push them through. The bike co-op came into effect after passing through a referendum in February 2010, creating a space on campus for bike enthusiasts to hang out, swap stories, and help each other with repairs, and also encourages and helps new cyclists. The U-Pass, a not-uncontroversial issue, has passed through two referendums to offer cheaper bus fare on OC Transpo to students, getting a few more cars off the roads and helping make travel more affordable for students living in the city. The Green Fund, another referendum measure, added a $2 fee to each student’s tuition in order to create a financing source for green projects on campus. The money helped set up the Sustainability Centre, and supports green initiatives in campus clubs and o...

Image obtained from Boogie Woogie Flu The SFUO elections are taking place on February 9th, 10th, and 11th. All undergraduate students will receive emails to their uOttawa accounts giving them a pin for online voting. This year sustainability has been a topic brought up by many candidates and is central to two of the referendum questions. The Green Referendum asks students to contribute $2.00 per ($1.00 per part-time student) to assist with the SFUO’s Sustainable Development initiatives. This levy would help to ensure that no matter what the priorities of the SFUO that year, sustainable development initiatives are still being supported. These funds would help in creating a visible Sustainability Center where all students, clubs, and federated bodies could go to learn about sustainability and how to access resources such as the Green events subsidy for clubs. The Bike Co-op being created at Lees campus would also be supported by this levy, ensuring that students will have an accessi...