MEDIA ADVISORY: COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY MOVE-IN FALL 2008

Move-in at Colorado State University begins August 21. It is anticipated that the Residence Halls will open at 99.5 percent occupancy this fall with 5,215 students.

DETAILS:

Academic Village Commons Opens

The Academic Village commons will open in its entirety on Thursday, August 21, 2008. Featuring green initiatives and serving more options than any other dining center on campus, the new dining center is a one-of-a-kind facility.

Powered 100 percent by green power and composting all food and paper waste, recycling remaining packaging and offering only compostable to-go containers, silverware, and cups, this facility is part of the university’s sustainability initiatives.

The Ram’s Horn dining center at the Academic Village will serve residence hall students, off-campus students, and faculty and staff members in three different food venues:

Academic Village Commons Express – Located on the way to main campus, the Express will serve 100 percent fruit smoothies, Vail Mountain Espresso coffee drinks and a variety of sandwiches, salads, pizza, sushi and snacks as well as an assortment of convenience store items.  The Express will be open 7am-1am every day.

Academic Village Commons Sports Grill – Cheeseburger sliders, pizza, buffalo hot wings and more. The Sports Grill will be open 11am-11pm every day.

The Ram’s Horn at the Commons – Featuring eight different food venues. A Mongolian grill, freshly made deli sandwiches, sizzling salads, Tex-Mex, pasta sauts, carved meats, steamed vegetables and skillet breakfasts are available. Ram’s Horn at the Commons will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner during the week, and brunch and dinner on the weekends.

Dining Centers Go Green with Trayless Dining

Housing and Dining Services has implemented a number of initiatives in the dining centers to reduce the impact on the environment including using green power for all dining centers, eliminating Styrofoam take-out containers, providing students with reusable water bottles instead of disposable cups, building energy efficient buildings and using efficient operating practices.

The new Ram’s Horn dining center at the Academic Village has two pulpers that allow CSU to send food waste to commercial composting facilities instead of the landfill. It is estimated that the pulpers will reduce landfill waste in the new dining facility by 70 percent.

Another important sustainability initiative, successfully piloted during the summer conference season, is discontinuing the use of trays in the dining centers. Over 7,500 meals are served every day in our dining centers. By not washing and sanitizing over 50,000 trays per week CSU hopes to conserve 195,000 gallons of water every month in addition to a reduction in dish-washing chemicals and energy usage. Dozens of universities across the country have taken this initiative and have reported a dramatic reduction in plate waste as well as water and energy usage.

To learn more about sustainability initiatives within CSU’s Housing and Dining Services visit www.housing.colostate.edu/green.

CONTACT:

For more information, contact Tonie Miyamoto at (970) 491-4314 or tonie.miyamoto@colostate.edu.

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