Another important issue that needs to be addressed at Baruch is the lack of on-campus greenery. Besides a few trees around the block, there isn’t a sufficient amount of greenery in or around  the Baruch campus. Not only does greenery provide an aesthicdoes greenery serve as an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere, but it also has many practical benefits.

The advantages that greenery can provide to students are profound. Studies such as the ones done by Classroom in Nature showed that learning outside a classroom increased students’ cognition and comprehension through using their senses such as sight and sound. It also created a stronger bond between students and teachers because they had more practical conversations and students changed their perspectives of teachers. Furthermore, the students were more engaged and less inhibited when they weren’t confined to a classroom. This would create a more productive learning environment for all students at Baruch College.

The benefits do not end at providing a more productive learning environment. In fact, a study done by mental health experts at the University of Exeter Medical School showed that greenery can significantly lower stress levels and improves mental health in the long run. For example, experts found that as people moved to neighborhoods with more greenery, they had mental health benefits which lasted for a minimum of three years. Think of the impact this can have on the Baruch community. By incorporating greenery into the Baruch campus, we can increase the mental health levels of our student body for a significant period of time.

One way to incorporate greenery is to plant a few trees around the campus. This could have a major impact on students during times of high stress, like finals week. We can look to City College, a fellow CUNY School in Manhattan, for a model of incorporating greenery.Their dedication to environmental sustainability is something we too can achieve at Baruch. If a majority of the students who support nature worked on planting trees, we would have made a huge difference at a low cost. In fact, we could even bring in some people from “Million trees NYC,” a volunteer program dedicated to planting 1 million trees in NYC, to come down to 23rd and Lex and help create a greener campus. We acknowledge that Baruch has limited campus space, nowhere near as much as CCNY’s 35 acres, but there are always alternatives such as bringing in pots of flowers that we can consider.
Other alternatives include having a green room in Baruch and having a green roof top. Much like the New York Botanical Garden, we can have a room dedicated to greenery with various types of plants. This room doesn’t have to be very large, it just has to be a place for students to relax and experience nature. Although it might be costly to maintain the plants, doing so can be a way to bring students closer together through interactions, which will definitely be worth any cost. If that idea isn’t appealing, another plausible alternative would be to have a roof-top garden on the roof of either the Mason Hall building or the Vertical Campus. Adding this would not require any rearrangement, it would only require a small renovation of the roof. We can always look to CCNY as an example for this project as the school has been working on designing a new building that integrates ample green space and even includes a green-roof. These options are ultimately worth any time and money.

If even these small proposals seem too expensive, students can still become more exposed to greenery if club activities and events take place in the park. Although it is true that students can walk a few blocks to Madison Square Park if they want to be surrounded by trees and plants, they won’t be able to interact with each other and have a feeling of comfort in their own campus. This alternative will not help Baruch be a close-knit community that many students strive for. It will not increase any school pride that students have. It will not make Baruch a more friendly and comfortable environment for people to stay in. The benefits to reinforcing methods of adding more greenery to the campus are innumerable and not very costly. The options are virtually endless.

Incorporating more greenery into Baruch is more feasible than one may think. Baruch has a variety of financial sources that could fund this project. It is comforting to know that there are alternative sources that would help bear this burden. A great example would be the State Legislature, which could not only provide much needed funds for Baruch but could also help with the overall strategic planning as well. What’s even better are the other options Baruch may choose from. One such option is the Tax-Exempt Lease-Purchase Agreements which allow flexibility, compared to traditional financing, by allowing college facilities the opportunity to assimilate standardized green utilities. Other financial agreements, such as Public-Private Agreements, can help with the research and financing needed in order to send Baruch down the path towards being a greener school. For example, the New York Restoration Project is a non-profit organization that aims to create or restore green spaces in the city. According to St. John’s newsletter from Spring 2009, this organization previously worked with St. John’s University to plant trees on its Queens and Staten Island campuses.

Professional organizations and groups aren’t the only places we can look to for help. There is always the option of receiving help from the student body itself. Aid can come from student organizations, student clubs, or students that simply want to contribute to increasing greenery on the campus. A suggestion of a method to get students involved is to offer them community service hours in exchange for their time and efforts.

Our choices aren’t limited. Even in the busy city of New York City, there are various ways to approach incorporating greenery into the campus and funding the projects. The cost of any projects to add more greenery to the campus should not prevent Baruch from taking action for what is important- improving the lives of the students. A change in scenery can benefit the mental health of students and faculty as well as help increase productivity among the student body.

 

 

 

4) identify your base line points or sentences that you want to make sure don’t get cut from the final draft.

• “Imagine the perfect college” personalizes the essay and effectively draws the reader’s attention.
• The various benefits that greenery has on student life
• Comparison and reference to other campuses to the argument of incorporating Baruch’s very own green campus renovations.
• Imagination which also assists in developing emotional appeal in readers
• Using CCNY as a template for comparison
• Idea of improving student life

5) identify what you could cut in order to mesh with the other groups.

• Consider cutting out the “green roof,” Union Square Park and the New York Botanical Garden options by, only briefly making sure these other alternatives are solely mentioned
• some of the exemplary projects like the New York Restoration Project and Millions Trees NYC
  • basically, cut the fat and consider how we can connect with the other groups

• focusing on the opportunities that can be taken advantage of rather than repeatedly mentioning clubs and the student body volunteering without any sort of assistance from the administration
• Could cut off the sentence in the conclusion and make it more personal or along with the lines of seeing it as an investment in the Baruch community.
  • propose a paper that puts forth initiatives that make you feel persuaded to take action towards rather than those that only make you want to consider the option

 

We recommend going after Vertical and before the Dorms sections