Green New Deal passes with Unanimous Support at KU

The resolution championed by Sunrise Movement KU focused on Environmental Justice, advocating for more than just sustainability. It also makes demands for student employee wage increases, recognizes solidarity with the faculty union and graduate teaching assistants union, and demands options for healthy plant based food options on campus.

Written by Sasha

The KU Student Senate unanimously passed a Resolution for a Green New Deal for the University of Kansas on Wednesday October 23rd. The resolution was championed by Sunrise Movement KU, the youth environmental movement on campus. It passed without any discussion as the last item on the agenda at the end of a several hour long Students Assembly meeting. The meeting also included a presentation on rate increases from Housing and Dining services that resulted in a candid admission that the dorms on campus have mold growth.

The resolution is focused on Environmental Justice, advocating for more than just sustainability. It also makes demands for student employee wage increases, recognizes solidarity with the faculty union and graduate teaching assistants union, and demands options for healthy plant based food options on campus.

Two years in the making, this action is part of a broader movement at universities nation wide. Earlier this year the University of Florida Student Senate also unanimously passed a Green New Deal becoming the first in the nation. On the other side of the country, coalitions within the University of California network are also working on similar initiatives.

As statements of intent, resolutions passed by the KU Student Senate lack binding authorization, but they do represent a commitment which Sunrise plan's to leverage towards creating lasting change on campus.