Feedback on wasteful practices within NUS

Dear Sir/Mdm,

Please help to redirect to the proper authority if not under your
purview

Feedback No.1
I would like to highlight a wasteful practice in NUS by the NUS
admin, NUSSU and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM).

NUS publishes their quarterly newsletter, Knowledge Enterprise which
is also available online. NUSSU publishes a magazine titled ''The
Ridge'', and YCTSM prints postcard-sized flyers to publicise their
upcoming events. The various Faculties also have their own newsletter.

All these publications are placed at various locations in NUS for
distribution to the staff and student population. However, I have
observed that
More often than not, very few people take the materials, and when a
new edition comes out, these are simply thrown away.

Currently, the online version of Knowledge Enterprise is publicised
to NUS students and staff via e-mail.

The cost of printing these materials would inevitably be passed down
to the students as ''increased operating costs''.

As we have had two undergraduate fee hikes in as many years, and it
seems that another one is likely, I would strongly urge the NUS
administration to first cut down on wasteful practices like this,
before deciding on a fee increase.

Proposed Solution:
- For the Knowledge Enterprise, since an electronic version is
already available on the NUS website, we can do away with the
hardcopy version. Users can just hit the ''print'' button should they
be interested in a hardcopy version.
- Likewise for the YCTSM, instead of printing postcard-sized flyers,
posters could instead be used and put up on the many noticeboards in
NUS. I am pretty sure this will generate the required publicity
without incurring additional cost.
- For The Ridge and the various faculty newsletters, an online
version (publicised by e-mail perhaps) would suffice. No need for a
hardcopy version.

Feedback No.2
In NUS, many lights and air-conditioners in the common areas such as
labs, are kept on 24-hours.

I am pretty sure this wastage applies in other tertiary institutions
and public buildings.

This wastage of electricity will inevitably be passed down to the
students as increased operating costs, given that electricity tariffs
have only been rising over the years.

Proposed Solution:
- Implement electronic timing system to switch off the lights and air
conditioning during periods of low usage. There should of course be a
motion sensor to override this when there is a user in the vicinity.
Perhaps this can be an FYP topic for the Computing / Computer
Engineering students to take up...
- As for the common areas, it is understandable that the lights
should be on due to security reason, but it is possible to only
switch on some of the lights?

I hope that by looking into these issues, we can help the University
to save money and reduce wastage.