Dear Editor,

In the past few issues I’ve read several articles about the budget cuts Loyola needs to undergo, and the environmental awareness that is being brought to campus.
Has anyone stopped to consider the increasing amount of plasma televisions that continue to appear on campus?

Today I noticed a new plasma screen in the library printing area.  A few months ago four televisions were installed in Flambeaux’s, and another six at the entrance to the Danna Center.  Ignoring for a moment the sheer costs of these extravagances, let’s take a moment to consider the environmental impact.

Simply hanging a sheet of paper to tell students not to print more than they should, or hanging a cardboard menu in Flambeaux’s has almost no environmental impact in comparison to the plasma screens.  In order to produce a plasma television, hundreds of toxic chemicals are used, as well as plastics that have to travel from many countries across the world in order to make it to the assembly line.  All this to simply toss it and add these materials to the diminishing land fill space across the world.  Not to mention, the huge amounts of energy it takes to keep these screens on, all day long, in order to advertise simple, one-line messages! 

Perhaps Loyola should be considering budget cuts in how much energy is consumed by the school (energy does cost money), and how much we really need plasma televisions to uphold some type of rich, futuristic image, in comparison to other academic expenditures. 

Sincerely,
Gabrielle Fuentes
psychology freshman
[email protected]