LETTER: Does Drew really want to become the school that chopped down its forest?

By Alexandra Kiely, Class of 2012

TO THE EDITOR: When I attended Drew University, being green was a huge part of the school’s collective consciousness.

“Save a tree; don’t use the printer," multiple recycling bins in every classroom, tips for reducing your carbon footprint – that kind of stuff. So imagine my shock and horror when I learned that Drew was seriously considering cutting down its beloved forest. Has the school really changed so completely in the 10 years since I graduated?

I am deeply concerned about what the future will hold for Drew if it goes through with this monumentally shortsighted decision. Condemning the forest will define Drew’s reputation for all time, but I don’t think the school has really considered the fallout. The overwhelming majority of colleges and universities across the country are environmentally focused and becoming more so all the time.

How does Drew expect to be taken seriously amongst its peers if it becomes known as the school that chopped down its forest?

How are professors, students, and alumni supposed to go out in the world and represent a school that allowed 53 acres of irreplaceable biodiversity to be destroyed? How many potential students will be alienated by a move that cannot possibly be spun as anything other than environmentally oblivious?

The fact that nobody in charge seems to have considered these issues troubles me deeply.

Clearly, university decision makers think that selling the forest will protect Drew’s future financially. What they don’t realize, however, is that they will be endangering Drew’s future in so many other ways. I just hope they catch on before it’s too late.

ALEXANDRA KIELY

Mendham