Elizabeth Batianis

UNC-Charlotte
Throughout the sprawling campus of UNC-Charlotte, the red mason bricks stand out amongst the green
vegetation and blue sky of the city surrounding. Built in 1965, the college was the fourth campus in the statewide
university program. As a leading research institute in an urban setting, UNC-Charlotte offers a range of degrees from
post-doctoral to associates. However, with a so-called focus on outstanding commitment to bettering our citys
environment, the lack of enthusiasm can be felt on campus at any time. Between the constant construction tearing at
the few trees standing outside the reserved gardens (a small plot of land that students often cut through to get to their
classes) and the development of a shiny new brick building (following the UNCC theme of red clay bricks) every
semester, there is little to no reach out to the environment at all.
Clay bricks are a traditional material meant to be reliable and easy to manage, as well as, long lasting. The
price to put up a brick building can range from $6.50 to $10.00 per square foot, more expensive than their eco-
friendly counterpart clay fly ash bricks. As coal is produced for electricity, the residues are collected and
concentrated to form fly ash bricks. These bricks are stronger than any other type of brick and they are resistant to
weather conditions. On the chemical level, the bricks are unyielding to moisture, making it hard for water to
infiltrate through the material. This could come in handy for buildings like the ones on campus here at Charlotte, or
anywhere, which stay up for many years to come. Fly ash bricks do not require the same amount of heat energy to
be produced like red bricks do. For areas that experience earthquakes and other natural disasters, fly ash bricks
better absorb vibrations and have ensuring strength behind them.
To fight the construction of new dining halls and parking lots is a nearly impossible task. Currently on
campus, there are at least 5 environmentally focused clubs and one campus-wide program called the Charlotte Green
Initiative (CGI). This program attempts to manage the UNC-Charlotte campus in an environmentally sustainable
manner. As a full-time student, the most I have heard from this program is that they have been accepting
applications for possibly more sustainable projects to be put in place. When asking my peers however, they hadnt
even heard that much. Educating students about an issue is a huge advantage to making change. When the affected
people know whats going on, they feel empowered to act on how they feel. Besides forming an entirely new
club/event/program for this issue of over-construction and using non eco-friendly building materials, a proper letter
can be addressed to either this existing CGI program or the Dean of Students. Getting the message quickly to the
ones who can actually make a difference on campus is quite essential. With the attention of the Dean or Chancellor,
a proposal could move into action more effectively. The proper support of educated students and faculty who wish to
see a difference between traditional building types can push this act all the way through, so the next time a building
may come on campus, it may be made of fly ash bricks.