LETTER: Drew student critical of university's 'short-sighted' forest development plan
By Michael George (C’2023) | Madison Eagle
TO THE EDITOR: I am a senior at Drew University, the “University in the Forest,” comprising 53 acres of contiguous nature in Madison, New Jersey.
Faculty and students have done a wonderful job of increasing the health of the forest over the past decade. The beauty and serenity of the forest is a major reason why many students and I decided to attend Drew.
However, due to financial troubles the university has been seeking to sell off parts of the campus, including the forest, for high-density housing. However, with amplifying climate change, loss of species, and forests being cut down for strip malls, there is no longer time for the short-sighted thinking that led to this solution. The forest is critical to students for education, research, mental health, and providing a connection with nature. Maintaining it is integral to the college’s business plan for the university to survive.
Selling off parts of the forest is unimaginative, uninspiring and overall bad for business. Drew must instead work with Madison to raise funds to sell the entire forest so it can be preserved in perpetuity. Instead of selling off a lush forest, Drew should capitalize on being a sustainability and environmental leader to bolster enrollment.Drew university was voted one of the top sustainability colleges according to the Princeton Review. A green college would never try to sell and destroy the land they tried so hard to preserve.Not selling off the forest would no doubt help the Theology School, a green seminary, which integrates ecology into academic courses and programs.
I can imagine students learning about how we solved our financial problems by celebrating and making our beautiful campus even more of a biodiversity hot-spot, as well as becoming a national leader on how to promote biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Drew must continue to have the pride of promoting itself as the “University in the Forest.”
However, this happy outcome is unlikely unless students can convince the university how important the forest is to us. Drew Students should join with the Drew Environmental Action League to sign a petition to this effect.
MICHAEL GEORGE
Class of 2023
Drew University
