The Cougar Green Fund will be on the ASWSU election ballot in March.

The ASWSU Senate unanimously passed the Standards Act resolution in support of the fund at its Wednesday meeting.

If passed, the Cougar Green Fund would allow students the option to pay a $5 fee when they register for classes. The fee would go toward efforts on campus to go green, including recycling, green roofs, composting, green technologies, Energy Star appliances and sustainability research.

“It’s great that the students now have the opportunity to step up and do the right thing. We need a sustainability coordinator. Since we can’t have that, the Cougar Green Fund is the next best thing,” said Melissa Stuart, chairwoman of the ASWSU Environmental Task Force.

District 10 Sen. Joey Nguyen said the university has a responsibility to the environment and Earth.

“I’m in full support of the resolution,” he said.

The most prominent concern expressed by senators regarding the bill was ambiguity. District 7 Sen. Christine Mars said the bill is vague, but she fully supports the people behind it.

“The people that are working behind this are really passionate about it. I trust that they have what it takes to make it happen,” Mars said.

The external affairs committee reported that it wants to see more of an allocation base to show what the Green Fund would support.

The finance committee reported that it is in full support of the bill, but that it needs more clarification regarding spending. The programming committee gave no report.

District 1 Sen. Greg Pender said the Senate should look at the Green Fund from the perspective of a WSU freshman. He recounted his experience paying fees during registration as a freshman.

“Seeing all these fees I had to pay was frustrating,” he said.

Pro Tempore Anthony Smith said the Senate will approve the optional Green Fund as a ballot item in February.

The Senate also passed Bill 38-05, which requires all ASWSU members to hold a minimum 2.5 GPA, instead of the previous 2.3.

“We need to set a standard for ourself, and that standard is low at the moment,” Smith said. “It’s time to raise it. It’s time to start holding ourselves accountable. A 2.3 is not acceptable.”