In an effort to become more sustainable, the university has made progress towards meeting our green goals, from the new napkins and plates in the Orleans Room to a ban on the use of cypress mulch on campus. The university is also taking steps to recycle its paper and aluminum products and form a committee dedicated to enforcing and carrying out sustainable practices.

But even with all of these efforts, the Sustainable Endowments Institute gave Loyola a D rating because we did not submit paperwork for this year. Therefore, public surveys and last year’s report card — which featured a D- rating — were the primary guide for our barely improved score.

Although the efforts the university makes are good, we should be doing more and actually have the responsibility and forethought to have these efforts recognized so that others can follow our example. If other universities knew of the improvements Loyola has made, they might have the incentive to try to match us.

This can’t happen, though, if we don’t take the initiative to not only send in our information to the Sustainable Endowments Institute next year, but to keep improving our green efforts on campus. Other New Orleans area schools, such as Tulane University, encourage bicycle and pedestrian transportation, as well as the use of mass transit, and has made it a graduation requirement for students to get involved with public service that focuses on sustainable rebuilding and environmental issues. These and other initiatives are ones Loyola should further explore to get greener.