Students at Slippery Rock University made a positive, important statement during the past week by voting in favor of a $5-per-semester green fee — money that would be allocated for projects to benefit the environment.

The big margin by which the fee was supported — 86 percent of the 1,794 students who voted cast "yes" votes — justifies approval by the university's board of trustees.

By their strong show of support on behalf of the fee, SRU students displayed understanding of environmental issues and concerns and indicated that they want to be part of the needed solutions — now and over the long term.

Their important statement also is an invitation to the 13 other schools in the State System of Higher Education to jump aboard the better-environment commitment.

But first the SRU trustees board must act, and students hope approval will be forthcoming at the trustees' June meeting.

The $5 Green Fund idea emanated from Leave It Green, an environmental group on campus.

Student Rachel DeWolf, who is a Leave It Green co-organizer along with student Dan Cannon, said, "Slippery Rock (University) has been making efforts toward helping the environment. The obstacle is always funding."

She said Leave It Green wants to provide a steady stream of money for environmental projects, and it is estimated that the fund would raise approximately $80,000 a year.

Among the ideas for the money are expanded recycling and composting efforts, water conservation, green buildings, sustainable transportation and curbing energy costs on the campus.

As envisioned, the fund would be regulated by a Green Fund Advisory Board, which, in addition to student representatives, would include some faculty and a community member.

It's important that the Green Fund's accomplishments be reported to the community, and having a community representative aboard would help to achieve that goal.

According to DeWolf, the idea for the special fund came from a weeklong summit on climate shift this fall that she and Cannon attended.

She said at least 30 universities across the nation have implemented this type of fee, including such big-name schools as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Members of Leave It Green obviously did an exellent job getting their message out to the SRU student body, and their efforts were rewarded with the positive student body vote.

Besides winning student approval for the idea, there also is another fact surrounding the group's effort that must not go unnoticed. That is the reason behind Leave It Green's decision not to seek money from the university budget to embark on its objective.

"We didn't want to be responsible for other programs losing funding because of us," DeWolf said.

Thus, the Green Fund will retain its identity as a student initiative financed totally by students.

According to Leave It Green, SRU president Robert Smith supports the students' idea. The board of trustees should likewise give the project strong endorsement.

If the trustees approve, the fee would be implemented for the fall semester.

The fee, which will be barely noticeable among other costs related to the higher education experience, will nonetheless set the stage for accomplishing much good in the years ahead.