By Poojaraj Maniyeri
UNIVERSITY CITY, SHARJAH – Online circumstances have created hurdles for campus sustainability, but in some cases have facilitated it as well, said Rose Armour, head of sustainability at American University of Sharjah, in a virtual podcast on April 1.
Armour works with different organizations in order to incorporate required sustainability objectives into AUS courses. She also works with students and faculty to foster sustainable living at AUS.
Armour said that she thought the online impact is a “little bit of both” positive and negative.
She said that while engaging students has been harder virtually, the online situation has helped expand the office social media reach, particularly Instagram by “about 89 percent.”
She stated that holding a virtual Open Day also helped in easy collection of statistics like the number of interested students. Armour said that prior to COVID, the priority was on students. She added that the pandemic has led to a reduction of the on-campus community and this has opened up opportunities to improve sustainability in faculty housing.
Armour stated that the office has been able to enhance recycling and improve sustainability education for faculty housing. She said that the office hopes to introduce recycling bins in the residential halls if circumstances allow for a return to campus.
