In response to continuous University efforts to convert the residential communities’ grass fields to turf, the Student Association Congress passed a resolution to preserve the Mountainview quad at the end of the fall semester.
Halina de Jong-Lambert, a Mountainview representative who authored the legislation, said she was inspired to pass the resolution after being approached by Zero Hour Binghamton, an environmental advocacy group. Hartin Bruncaj, the president of the Mountainview College Council and a senior majoring in biochemistry, said the group heard the University will begin renovating the Mountainview field by spring 2025. Pipe Dream was unable to confirm this timeline.
If successful, Mountainview will be the fourth living community to have their fields changed from grass to turf following Dickinson Community, College-in-the-Woods and Newing College. Having lived in Mountainview last year, de Jong-Lambert said she recognizes the quad’s central role in the community.
“This legislation was also very important for me to introduce as a representative: I know the SA has faced some accusations this year of not wholly representing the diverse ideas and opinions held by the student body, or giving the student body a full chance to voice their opinion before a resolution was passed,” de Jong-Lambert, a sophomore double-majoring in economics and political science, wrote to Pipe Dream. “My fellow Mountainview representatives and I were so grateful for the opportunity to formulate a resolution that united people and student groups across campus, and hopefully communicated to the student body that we very much want to advocate [for] your causes.”
The resolution calls on administrators to not install the turf in place of the grass field citing risks to health and environmental standards and the sense of community in Mountainview. It maintains there must be a dialogue between the Mountainview College Council and the administration before further action occurs.
Administrators have responded to student concerns about the turf fields, touring their ability to increase the longevity of the outdoor spaces.
“The field projects have allowed us to resolve drainage issues and increase the usability of the fields to the full calendar year, so they are now playable/usable year-round rather than only for three months of the academic year,” wrote Ryan Yarosh ‘02, MPA ‘09, the University’s senior director of media and public relations earlier this month. “It has been exciting to see these areas come alive with activity, and we look forward to providing similar updates to each of the residential community spaces in the future.”
De Jong-Lambert said that during the summer months, turf can reach temperatures up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit because of the faster rate at which synthetic grass heats up in comparison to natural grass. She said this poses a burn risk to students wishing to use the turf during this period, increasing the likelihood that they could become injured.
The resolution cites a New York Times report, which says that “sports-medicine researchers studying the medical records of high school athletes in Ohio in the 2017–2018 season found that the student athletes in several sports were, on average, 58 [percent] more likely to sustain an injury during athletic activity on artificial turf than on natural grass.” The same report casts doubt on synthetic grass companies claiming they use renewable resources for their products, exacerbating sustainability concerns.
Echoing the passed legislation, de Jong-Lambert wrote that turf sheds about 8 percent of its blades per year, increasing microplastic pollution, which can pose dangers to the organisms that ingest them and present threats to the ecosystem.
According to Zero Hour, turf typically only lasts about 8-10 years, resulting from the erosion and the breakdown of plastics. They noted the risk it poses to local habitats like the Susquehanna River, which already suffers from the impacts of pollutants. Advocating against the renovation, the organization created a petition in October.
“If a precedent is set that allows administration to tear up the most meaningful gathering spaces for students with zero student input, what does the future of our campus look like?” Zero Hour wrote to Pipe Dream. “Will it be dictated only by the whims of far-off donors? Or of the students themselves?”
In addition to the co-rec sports often played on the field, the Mountainview quad is a popular location for picnics and sledding, activities the turf would complicate, Zero Hour added.
In April, the organization spearheaded a different petition opposing the conversion of the Newing field to turf, and initial news about the College-in-the-Woods and Dickinson fields in summer 2023, sparked backlash from the student body. These projects are part of a five-year plan to improve campus facilities. Similar to their past attempts, de Jong-Lambert said on Dec. 4 that the SA was unable to speak with any University representatives.
“We hope that the administration is willing to work on finding a different use with the allocated funds for the turf so that a positive solution is reached,” the Mountainview College Council E-Board wrote. “We know that nothing is guaranteed and no path is sunshine and rainbows, we believe that this is a cause worth fighting for.”