ASI President works for sustainability

He is a musician, singer and songwriter. He is a first generation college student and the ASI president. He is a performance poet and an architectural engineering major.

But what sets Tylor Middlestadt apart from other Cal Poly student presidents is his passion for sustainability and energy conservation, and his goal of implementing campus sustainability.

“The health of the community should be the focus and intension of leadership,” Middlestadt said.

Sustainability refers to taking from the environment in a way that does not reduce the capacity for future use. Leaving the world either as good as or better than one found it.

As president, Middlestadt plans to improve mass transit by increasing service to “heavily populated neighborhoods.” He is also looking to increase the number of bike racks on campus and decrease the effective hours of bike walk zones.

“I plan to decrease our energy and resource use in the residential communities by raising awareness about the effects of energy/resource waste, and the potential that an individual has in terms of preserving resources by making different choices about usage patterns,” Middlestadt said.

Middlestadt serves as the Cal State Student Association environmental affairs officer and as a student representative on the CSU Sustainability Committee.

The committee includes CSU faculty, staff, students and consultants from the private sector. Last week, Middlestadt attended a CSU conference on sustainability in Long Beach.

Middlestadt plans to implement the recent CSU policy on strong sustainable design standards, aggressive energy conservation measures and energy sustainability and plant management in “collaboration with university administrators, faculty, staff and students.

Middlestadt first became interested in environmental concerns while in middle school. Then in his third year at Cal Poly, he became aware of the sustainable environments minor and became involved in a grassroots student campaign to encourage strong goals in revised policy.

After graduating in June 2007, Middlestadt would like to find a position designing renewable energy systems or be a consultant for environmental issues and policies.

“My passion for sustainability goes far beyond environmental goals,” Middlestadt said. “In my mind, sustainability has much to do with the social and political climate.”