Senator Spotlight

            CLAIRE RUMLER

           “I’m from Colorado where everyone is kind of crunchy granola hippie. One of the first things I noticed when I got to Miami is that there were no recycling bins anywhere,” Claire Rumler said reminiscing on her motivation to implement the GreenU initiative.

Less than a week later, dressed in a contagious smile of accomplishment and gratitude, Claire stood in front of the SBA and dozens of members of Miami Law’s student body to announce that the recently installed water filter above the fountain outside room F109 had reached a milestone. It had saved 2,000 water bottles on Miami Law’s campus from their otherwise imminent exile in a water bottle graveyard.

Just last semester, Claire ambitiously embarked on an uphill battle to make the law school’s campus environmentally conscious through GreenU. While balancing her taxing 1L schedule, she and her loyal committee members undertook the tedious task of auditing the entire campus. The committee went through every room, with the exception of a few that the committee 

pestered the administration for information about. After the audit, the committee ended up getting rid of 81 trash locations and adding 30 recycling facilities.

Not only did GreenU implement more recycling facilities around campus and install a shiny new water filter fitted to accommodate water bottles in an effort to eliminate water bottle waste around the law school, but it also teamed up with the GreenU undergrad initiative to host an Earth Day Fair on campus last spring to incite green enthusiasm and awareness of the lasting consequences of students' actions today.

Claire has basic suggestions for the many students waking up to the sobering realization that the unfortunate legacy they leave is one of a lingering carbon footprint for future generations.  She suggests steps as easy as turning the water off when brushing your teeth and bringing reusable grocery bags to the store. Her own reusable water bottle, which she totes around daily, is evidence that being environmentally conscious is simple.

What Claire particularly wants students to note is that the law school has single-stream recycling, and that even if water bottles are thrown in paper recycling bins, all recyclable products will be recycled without burden on students to separate anything.

            Claire has battled with student apathy and administrative bureaucracy alike. Although she finds that the biggest struggle in starting GreenU was navigating that bureaucracy, she proudly proclaims that the administration has become sensitive to the persistent environmental struggles around campus and has been supportive of GreenU. Claire looks forward to working with the administration to implement lasting policies when the new campus is built. She envisions using recycled paper in all the printers and working in tandem to innovate a more sustainable design for the campus.

GreenU is just getting started, and Claire welcomes feedback and involvement from students.