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With the environmental crisis being an important issue to many college students, an environmentally-efficient campus is definitely a plus for potential enrollments. Chatham University boasts environmental sustainability as one of its most important missions and the school has definitely tackled one issue: transportation.

Chatham has a number of common methods but some that are a bit more unique and uncommon. Like many universities, Chatham has embraced a shuttle system. These shuttles are referred to as “Green Machines” and run on biodiesel, a renewable and clean-burning alternative to diesel fuel. The shuttles run until 3 a.m. and not only take students to the nearby Eastside campus but also to the hotspot of Oakland. Students needing a break from studying and the everyday hustle and bustle of college life have an efficient way of getting to the restaurants, stores and museums that can be found in this popular area of town.

A student with a driver’s license who does not have a car on campus has the option of renting a Zipcar. Having a Zipcar available discourages individual car ownership, therefore resulting in less pollution. Of course, not all students have licenses to drive but fortunately, public transportation has been made extremely easy to access at Chatham: Students are permitted to use any Port Authority bus for free simply by displaying their Chatham ID. The university encourages public transportation as a way to conserve energy and offering free fares for college students is definitely a great convenience for students looking to get to different areas of Pittsburgh.

Chatham University has definitely lived up to its promise of encouraging environmental sustainability. With transportation being one of the leading causes of pollution, providing alternatives to students that are easy to access greatly helps to reduce the campus’ carbon footprint. What is your school doing to lessen its environmental impact?

Melissa Garrett is a sophomore at Chatham University majoring in creative writing with minors in music and business. She works as a resident assistant and is currently in the process of self-publishing several of her books. She also serves as the president of Chatham’s LGBT organization and enjoys political activism. Melissa’s ultimate goal is to become a college professor herself.

Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College offers admitted students $3,500 per year merit scholarships, a common practice among state colleges that want to entice the best students to attend. Students at Penn State and their parents are doing something unique with these scholarship awards, though: they're giving them to other Schreyer students.

Parents of scholarship recipients who did not apply for need-based financial aid receive a letter asking them to consider making a donation in the amount of the scholarship their children received. The letter, penned by the parents of other Schreyer students, emphasizes the amount of unmet financial need some of their children's classmates face and asks them to consider whether they need the extra $3,500 in order to pay their tuition bill. If not, they are asked to give the money to students for whom the extra money could make the difference between attending college at Penn State and staying home.

The university stresses that students are not being asked to give up their academic scholarships in this campaign. Rather, they ask that parents who can spare the extra money because their child received a scholarship would consider donating to help other deserving students who last year had more than $1 million in unmet financial need.

Honors colleges, even at large state universities, tend to be relatively close-knit communities of top-performing students who are engaged in their studies and their campus communities. It's not surprising, then, that parents of Schreyer Honors College students hit upon an idea to help their children's struggling classmates last year when the economy first began to sink into recession. The campaign was initiated by parents and supported by the university, which sends the letters on the parents' behalf.

Last year's appeal raised around $228,000, with over $120,000 of that going directly to 34 students who needed help paying for school. The remaining $100,000 went towards establishing an endowed trust to ensure that this effort continues helping students in the future. So far this year, the campaign has raised $13,000 from 11 donors.