The invasive insect the Emerald Ash Borer has been located in Waterloo. For those of you that do not know, that means trouble for the 1,700+ ash trees that are on UNIs campus. Thats almost 37 percent of all trees at UNI and most were planted after the Dutch Elm Disease swept through. Take the west side of the UNI Dome for example, the back road to the WRC is lined with ash trees. They will eventually all succumb to the pest. Science fact. This also includes some of the oldest residents alive at UNI, like the few on the corner of College and University outside McCollum Science Hall.
UNI should be the hub for social and environmental movements in the Cedar Valley. It is our responsibility as young people with access to the resources our university provides to do something about the failing socio-economic and environmental systems around us. Our technology brings us stories of tar sand mines the size of Florida in once pristine Canadian forest, Kansas bureaucrats that fear anything that isnt heterosexual and video after video of police beating blacks because, well, they can still get away with it in many places. These atrocities are also occurring in your own backyard. Take the effort to learn about them and the more numerous they will become. Take a proactive stance on diversity and if you want to really enact change, start with yourself.
The UNI Grounds Crew will be planting trees as the pest sweeps through campus over the next 10 years, and I am interested to see how we approach the situation. Birch grow fast, as do soft maples, or how about our state tree, the oak? Given the over 100 species of trees and shrubs native to the state of Iowa, I sure hope we dont plant 2,000 of the same species of fast growing tree. UNI doesnt have to, again, risk taking on the stark appearance of a clear-cut forest. History is not doomed to repeat itself.
