NOVEMBER 14 , 2019
UIARGONAUT.COM
POWER FROM
THE SUN Student-led project will bring solar panels to campus Ellen Dennis
ARGONAUT
Solar energy could come to the University of Idaho campus as soon as next spring, provided a fundraising initiative goal is met. A student-led UI Sustainability Center team is working in collaboration with UI Facilities Services on a plan to install nearly 400 solar panels on the roof of the Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) Building. The panels will be
393
constructed in an array system — a grid-like structure which holds the panels — supplying the building with 145 kW of energy, Sustainability Center Director Jeannie Matheison said. This will provide 15% of this energy-intensive building’s annual demand, with close to 100% of its overall demand to be met during the summer months, Matheison said. Kylie Cutler — Sustainability Center Program Manager and third-year civil engineering student — is one of the coleads for this project. “This solar array is the way that I personally, as well as everybody on campus and everybody in the community, can contribute to a largescale solution to the climate crisis,” Cutler said. “It’s a step that needs to be taken everywhere, and to have it
5.3m
462k
CAMPUS
Haadiya Tariq
ARGONAUT
University of Idaho I will potentially outsource the VandalStore’s management in the coming year. Director of Contracts & Purchasing Services Julia McIlroy said UI has been debating different options for the store for over a decade — this discussion began again about two years ago. The VandalStore currently operates under UI management with UI employees. “The VandalStore is a department with the University of Idaho,” McIlroy said. “The building structure itself is just like any other building at the University of Idaho. The individuals that work for the VandalStore are University of Idaho employees.” McIlroy said the main contenders for outsourcing are Barnes & Nobles, which has been operating WSU’s bookstore for over 15 years, and Follett. Both firms have said that if they are selected, they will hire all current workers who are currently employed by UI while maintaining the
4.3m lbs of co2 emissions eliminated
ISUB/TLC closure displaces workers, classrooms
same rate of pay and benefits, McIlroy said. Employees will also keep the credit for the years worked prior, their previous experience being acknowledged. “Additionally, we don’t want anyone to lose their jobs, so even though they wouldn’t be working for the University of Idaho, they would be working for… the same rate of pay.” An outsourcing evaluation board has formed consisting of campus and VandalStore employees. The board will consider three proposals for different potential outcomes to their decision. The board may decide to stick to the status quo of how the store is currently run and change nothing, McIlroy said. Management under UI with university employees would remain the same. As a middle-ground option, the store may begin to outsource only textbooks. Other merchandise purchased would still be sourced by UI and employment would as well. Textbooks would be run through an outside firm, which would allow for greater access to a variety of books. SEE VANDAL STORE, PAGE 4
SEE SOLAR PANELS, PAGE 4
CAMPUS
Management to change at the VandalStore Outside firms may be managing the Vandal Store
Matheison said. Roughly 56% of this cost has already been raised by the Sustainability Center in partnership with UI Facilities and ASUI. Stakeholders from the Sustainability Center and Facilities contributed roughly $180,000 and student fees contributed roughly $25,000. A student activity fee of $1.75 was recently awarded by ASUI to the Sustainability Center — the equivalent of $25,000 a year. Student activity fees come out of student tuition increases which are approved and are allocated to campus projects at ASUI discretion. Project managers have turned to crowdfunding efforts to raise the remaining 44%.
dollars saved
kw hours energy produced
solar panels
starting here on a smaller scale and then eventually building it up, it’s just a great way to, as an individual, contribute to a large-scale solution in a meaningful and tangible way.” The IRIC was chosen for this project from a list of 15 potential rooftop and ground-mount locations due to its structural integrity, beneficial orientation to the sun and other criteria. “We conducted the solar site assessment and found four locations that fit these criteria the way we wanted them to,” Cutler said. The first choice was the VandalStore roof, which was ruled out after structural analysis revealed it’s not built for current snow loads, said Cutler. The IRIC was the second choice, so Cutler and her team selected its rooftop. The project is estimated to cost $365,000 in total,
Largest building on campus remains closed with no set reopening date Rachele Catt
ARGONAUT
With the TLC remaining partially closed and the ISUB completely closed, many students, faculty and staff are required to readjust. With some relocations still in place, people affected are understanding of the university’s current situation. Efforts to install the new transformer on the northside of the building began Nov. 12. The installation is estimated to take two weeks. The new transformer will be a permanent installation to replace the transformer that was damaged Nov. 1 from flooding in the basement caused by a failure of the water filtration system. The ISUB/TLC should fully reopen by the first week of December. “It should continue as planned as long as they can get the concrete down,” said Jodi Walker, UI director of communications. “As long as the weather holds, and they don’t run into
any unforeseen problems, it shouldn’t take longer than two weeks,” Walker said. Walker also said that the rooms for relocated classes, which can be found on the university’s class schedule website, will remain the same for the duration of the semester. University employees with offices in the ISUB/TLC have also been relocated during the closure. Their temporary offices may remain until the end of the semester, but that is still undecided, Walker said. “Well, obviously I’m not in my office,” Jessika Glover, administrative assistant two for the university’s advising services and academic support programs, said. Like many others with offices in the ISUB/TLC, Glover was relocated due to the closure. Glover also said that this experience overall has been one of adaptability and change. Glover and her colleagues are now located in the Vandal Ballroom of the Pitman Center. SEE FLOODING, PAGE 4
IN THIS ISSUE
Vandal seniors prepare for their final game inside the Dome. SPORTS, 5 News, 1
Sports, 5
Life, 8
Opinion, 10
Parent-family weekend inclusive to all types of families. LIFE, 8 University of Idaho
Celebrate UI’s Parent and Family Weekend. Read our view. OPINION, 10 Volume 121, Issue no. 45
Recyclable