The Daily Tar Heel
URL: http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2012/02/sbp_candidate_leimenstoll_passionate_about_environmentalism
Current Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 12:19:10 -0400
SBP candidate Leimenstoll passionate about environmentalism
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Will Leimenstoll is running for Student Body President.
SBP Candidate Profiles:
This is the first in a series of SBP candidate profiles.
Today: Will Leimenstoll
Tuesday: Tim Longest
Wednesday: Calvin Lewis Jr.
Possibly Related
- Pair of Church Street sexual battery cases being investigated by Chapel Hill police MAY 23
- UNC professor is named to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C. Board of Trustees MAY 23
- Kenan-Flagler study finds a perception gap in women’s leadership opportunities MAY 23
- Board of Trustees to discuss AFAM fraud and faculty retention MAY 21
- Leimenstoll starts lobbying campaign in Raleigh MAY 21
Will Leimenstoll has always known what he’s going to do with his life.
A passion for the environment has been his focus since childhood, when he would spend his time reading books about animals and promoting sustainable development in town hall meetings.
His environmentalism translated into an ambition to become a sustainable urban planner.
“It has been something I’ve cared about for a very long time,” Leimenstoll said.
But first, in his campaign for student body president, Leimenstoll aims to bring his green ideas to UNC.
Leimenstoll, who collected the most petition signatures of all three candidates, said his platform takes a holistic approach, applying equity, efficiency and the environment to all issues.
“The sustainability framework is something that no other candidate brings to the table,” he said.
Leimenstoll served as co-chairman of student government’s environmental affairs committee, which promotes environmentalism on campus by encouraging sustainable lifestyles.
Former co-chairwoman of the committee Sara Rafalson said Leimenstoll knows about more than just the environment.
“It’s more about just his environmentalism, but how he sees issues are related,” Rafalson said.
Leimenstoll said being student body president has not always been a goal. It wasn’t until a friend suggested it during dinner that he considered putting together a campaign, he said.
But a semester studying abroad in South Africa complicated the campaign assembly process.
“I was 8,000 miles away,” Leimenstoll said.
“It took a lot of emails.”
Despite the distance, Leimenstoll said he organized a campaign staff that prioritized his two main issues: affordable tuition and protecting the environment.“Just by reducing energy bills or reducing what we send to the landfill we’re saving the University money,” Rafalson said.
Leimenstoll said thinking about these issues is what keeps him up at night.
“I feel like UNC is one of those socioeconomic ladders that can really change people’s track in life,” he said.
“One of the big points in my plan is that UNC should focus on being proudly public.”
Leimenstoll saw his membership in Pi Kappa Phi fraternity as an opportunity to share his environmentalism.
Fellow fraternity member Will McLeane said Leimenstoll was adamant about making the fraternity green.
“It really does give you opportunities to grow as a leader, especially for me as environmental guy — you don’t find that as much in the Greek community,” he said.
Leimenstoll credits his parents for fostering his passion.
“I would get in trouble if I wouldn’t recycle a yogurt container,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s common.”
Leimenstoll’s mother, Jo Leimenstoll, said she remembers a conversation during Will’s youth when he told her his life’s calling was to fight sprawl.
“He really does feel he can make a difference,” she said.
“That’s been true about Will since he was much younger, so this campaign doesn’t surprise me at all.”
Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.
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15 comments
Great!
This is exactly what we need during these tough economic times. Someone who is more concerned about UNC burning coal then about advocating for keeping tuition low.
@ King George—
Did you read this article? It clearly says that affordable tuition is his priority. It also mentions that we can SAVE THE UNIVERSITY money by reducing energy and waste costs.
Please don’t frame this as economy vs. environment. As Will Leimenstoll clearly understands, they are both important to the success of this University.
Did anyone stop to consider the three E’s of environmentalism? Energy, Economy, Environment? And the ubiquitous, but often forgotten, fourth E…EXPENSIVE?
Sorry Mr. Leimenstoll, but this University isn’t exactly in an economic place to prioritize spending towards your little “environmental initiatives”. NO amount of extra recycling bins placed on campus can efficiently cut costs, and all the overblown optimism in the world can’t change that. Thanks for presenting your one-sided platform, though!
@Logic, did you ever stop to consider that the DTH is simply putting very short, non-comprehensive profiles of the candidates together to give the student body a better idea of who they are? And that before you want to be critical of his enthusiasm for a very worthy cause, you should read his entire platform? If environmentalism is something that Will is extremely passionate about, that’s great for both the campus and community, and onetwothree makes the necessary point that it’s NOT his main priority.
Every student body president candidate ever has advocated that they’ll fight tuition increases. Clearly that’s been working out very well. I appreciate that Will is bringing a new perspective to the issue of tuition increases. Obviously as a student he probably wants to keep tuition affordable just as much as the rest of us do. There are so many different aspects to the tuition debate and making sure the University is as efficient as possible is something that is always overlooked. I don’t understand why caring about sustainability, in addition to caring about tuition, is a negative thing. There is more to a University than the cost it takes to attend. Everything on our campus impacts the environment and increasing sustainability is just another initiative that will make our University better. While it is important to have a student body president that will speak up for students against increasing tuition costs, I would also want a student body president who is going to focus on more than just the issue of tuition.
The ice caps aren’t melting … trust me I live there.
“There is more to a University than the cost it takes to attend”.
Wow. Some students who will unfortunately not be able to afford to even get in the door will never know what other great aspects this University has to offer.
Mitt Romney’s recent scandalous quote, which I will not repeat, comes to mind….
As much as people want to tell you that it’s way to costly to become more environmentally friendly…….. They are wrong……. It doesn’t have to consist of some large measure, but rather something as simple as turning off those bright blinding lights in Kenan after say a reasonable 8 pm. Or perhaps shuting down the lights in each of the North Campus buildings after they are locked and there is obviously no one inside…… Don’t talk to me about economy before you realize that simple measure like this can save the university millions.
Given that the Board of Governors and Board of Trustees have consistently demonstrated that they really aren’t interested in the opinion of the SBP, I appreciate that Leimenstoll isn’t trying to lie to anyone by making promises he can’t keep. I have no doubt that he will multitask and keep tuition a priority like any SBP (as even the article states), but he seems to recognize that his powers are limited and that he should use them where they might create some real improvements.
I also appreciate that he is motivated by something other than providing better printing services for his Greek constituency and a taxi service for drunk people. I’m still undecided, but I think that Leimenstoll has made a good decision in selecting something like environmentalism to be his main motivation as he can tackle issues of all scales, so even if his larger initiatives fail or fall through, he can still have something to show for his work if some of smaller projects succeed.
“One of the big points in my plan is that UNC should focus on being proudly public.”- Will Leimenstoll
“I feel like UNC is one of those socioeconomic ladders that can really change people’s track in life,” he said. – Will Leimenstoll
I may be missing something, but to me, it sounds like Leimenstoll wants to apply his sustainability framework to all issues that affect the University. I do not really see why this would be a bad thing, especially in a tough budget year. The 3 E’s mentioned are Equity, Economy, and Environment, not energy, and they all seem to really fit well with the tuition issue- especially if one considers Environment as more than just green technology, but also as a “holistic” attempt to sustain/promote an academically engaging, inclusive, and positive experience. I think it is great that a candidate is trying to leverage his area of expertise and create a model for sustainable governance at UNC.
http://www.greenreportcard.org/report-card-2011/schools/university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill
UNC’s Sustainability Report Card from 2011, a commendable score on almost all counts. The University and associated student groups/student government groups obviously have the sustainability issue under control.
Sustainability will always be a forefront and important issue to our University society, but maybe we should focus some open discourse on the issues that have sneaked their way to the top of the priority list within the past year.
was the CCI printing expansion into PKP part of Will’s plan to make the fraternity “green”?
No, it was probably just part of Mary Cooper’s plan to keep her think-alike little minion in student government. Green taxis and green printing for everyone!
As someone who knows Will and his campaign well, I would simply like to point out that a DTH profile isn’t the most accurate or holistic representation of a candidate, and is instead just choosing what sounds like a good theme for an article. If you are actually curious to see what Will’s Team has proposed, rather than just taking the DTH as your only source, I encourage you all to look at his platform on his website, will4sbp.org. If you are instead concerned with mis-interpreting the concepts and taking quotes out of context, then by all means carry on.
Can the school paper call my mom next time they need someone to vouch for my character?
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