Located on campus at 16 Park Street, the house includes such features as compact fluorescent lighting; low-flow shower heads, faucets, and toilets; interior walls painted with nearly 100% post- consumer recycled paint; second-hand (re-used) furniture; a heavily insulated attic; high-efficiency appliances; recycling bins; a small library of environmental literature; a Mac and an IBM computer for resident and environmental studies student use; and three different composting systems. Residents have been a vital part of making some of the green improvements to the house and are always seeking new ways and new resources to continue its green evolution. Currently, we are trying to come up with a better name for the house than just "the ENS house." The best suggestion so far seems to be "The Slug Ranch," but we are still looking.
Resident Selection:
Even though the house only began its new life as AU's ENS house a few years ago, house residents have already included students with majors from art to English to engineering--as well as Environmental Studies, of course. We've had men with long hair, women with shaved heads, vegetarians and omnivores, anarchistic utopians, wilderness survival enthusiasts, and future lawyers. There's room in the ENS house for all types of people and philosophies--our one common denominator is the yen to explore "green living" here on campus, and the commitment to help make it happen.
Six students are selected to live in the house's two singles and two doubles each year. An application form, which can be obtained from the ENS secretary, includes questions on room/roommate preference, past environmental activities, reasons for wanting to become a resident, and ideas for the future of the ENS house. These applications are reviewed and the housing decisions are made by house advisor, Michele Hluchy, and current residents. Residents are expected to display an active commitment to environmentally-friendly living and to live up to that commitment throughout the year.
