In light of the University of Michi-

gan’s commitment to achieve carbon 
neutrality for both on-campus and 
purchased-power emissions by 2040, 
community members are consider-
ing how the University can introduce 
more energy-efficient lighting proce-
dures.

Multiple buildings and common 

areas across campus close each night 
and remain inaccessible to students, 
staff and faculty, but continue to be 
lit with the same light intensity as 
during business hours, according 
to Kevin Morgan, manager of the 
Energy Management Program at 
the Office of Campus Sustainability. 
Individual students or staff cannot 
turn these lights off — they are gen-
erally managed by facilities staff in 
each building.

Electricity generated to illumi-

nate these interiors on campus falls 
under Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. 
This means that emissions associ-
ated with lighting are produced by 
electricity from both the University’s 
own power plant and purchases from 
other energy utilities.

Why does the University leave 

these lights on? And are there ways 
the campus could be lit in a more effi-
cient way? 

Safety, campus environment and 

architecture

It’s unclear exactly how much 

lighting 
accounts 
for 
electric-

ity usage and carbon emissions from 
buildings on campus. The U.S. Ener-
gy Information Administration cited 
data from a survey indicating light-
ing accounts for 17% of the electricity 
consumed in U.S. commercial build-
ings, but the survey does not break 
down how much of that demand 
comes from lights left on beyond 
business hours. 

In an email to The Daily, Univer-

sity spokesperson Kim Broekhuizen 
said the amount of electricity used 
for lighting varies across buildings, 

making it difficult to quantify the 
impact overnight lights have on ener-
gy consumption.

“Energy use from lighting can 

vary based on a building’s design, 
age, lighting code at the time of con-
struction or renovation, and lighting 
system updates,” Broekhuizen said.

Morgan said the primary rea-

son lights are left on in buildings is 
for safety purposes. He said even 
if a building is closed to the public, 
these “uncontrollable lights” need 
to remain on so maintenance facili-
ties staff can safely enter or exit the 
buildings if they need to address 
emergency electrical issues.

“By code, we need to assume 

someone is in there, and we need to 
make sure they can get out safely,” 
Morgan said.

Morgan referred to the Michigan 

Building Code, which requires com-
mon spaces to provide a minimum 
amount of “emergency lighting” 
for individuals to traverse through 
spaces such as hallways and stairs. 
These rules apply to recently con-
structed buildings but are not neces-
sarily required of older buildings on 
campus. 

The code also mandates that 

lights remain active 24/7, meaning a 
minimum amount of light is required 
in on-campus common areas even 
when the building is closed to the 
public.

Unless a building is being decom-

missioned, such as being set for a 
renovation or demolition, Morgan 
said the University legally cannot 
deactivate lighting systems for com-
mon spaces, even if nobody is inhab-
iting them.

Broekhuizen said the University is 

open to energy conservation sugges-
tions from the community.

“We appreciate the U-M com-

munity helping us to identify ways 
to reduce our energy use, and in the 
case of lighting, noting when lights 
should be turned off if not necessary 
for safety or wayfinding,” Broekhui-
zen said.

CSG Vice President Carla Voigt, 

an Engineering senior, told The Daily 
in a message that the University 
could do more to turn these lights off.

“I think as many lights as possible 

should be turned off to reduce light 
pollution and energy waste,” Voigt 
said. “The safety of our students 
is incredibly important. However, 
there are many places on campus 
with lights on that aren’t necessary 
for safety, such as inside empty build-
ings or other non-populated areas.”

Voigt was previously a campaign 

manager for the CSG party Rep-
resent Michigan, which proposed 
turning off the lights at the Michigan 
Stadium as a sustainability measure. 
The stadium’s lights remain on over-
night, and athletics officials have 
previously stated the lights need to 
stay on for “safety and security pur-
poses.”

While building codes mandate 

many spaces remain illuminated, 
Morgan noted some lights may be 
deliberately left on as a choice of 
the building designer to highlight 
architectural features. He suggested 
that lights might be left on at Ross to 
emphasize the glass box design fea-
tures.

In an email to The Daily, Grant 

Faber, a U-M alum who contrib-
uted to the Student Advisory Panel 
of the President’s Commission on 
Carbon Neutrality and has worked 
in sustainability and carbon capture 
research, said lights may often be 
left on to create the feeling of a living 
campus environment to community 
members. 

There are multiple energy conser-

vation measures that increase energy 
efficiency, such as installing LED 
lights to replace fluorescent lights, 
which consume more electricity. 
Morgan said fluorescent lights are 
currently the most common type of 
light used on campus. 

Morgan said the University gen-

erally requires new construction 
projects to utilize LED lighting, and 
multiple University units have been 
updating their lighting fixtures in 
recent years. For the lights that are 

required to be left on, Morgan said 
these efficiency improvements could 
be valuable in reducing energy con-
sumption. 

“We know that that light needs to 

be delivered to that space, so we’ll do 
our best to make it as efficient as pos-
sible,” Morgan said. “That’s the best 
we can do.”

Adam Simon, professor of earth 

and environmental sciences, said 
another option to reduce unneces-
sary lighting is to install sensors 
that turn lights off when there’s no 
movement in the room. Many class-
rooms and offices already contain 
sensors that perform this function. 
Simon said sensors help the Univer-
sity “circumvent human behavior” 
when individuals forget to turn off 
lights.

“What you’re doing there is you’re 

bypassing having students do it,” 
Simon said. “You don’t need humans 
to make that decision. It’s just done 
by the silent hand behind the scenes.”

To pay for these kinds of upgrades, 

the University proposed a revolv-
ing energy fund as part of its car-
bon neutrality announcement. The 
fund would allow the University to 
finance investments in energy con-
servation, such as LED lighting and 
motion sensors, and regain the funds 
through the cost savings generated 
by these investments. 

Simon said using this approach 

was “low-hanging fruit” that could 
also create funds to go toward spend-
ing for students, including schol-
arships. He noted that Harvard 
University had implemented a simi-
lar energy fund years ago.

“The revolving energy fund cer-

tainly is something that myself and 
many colleagues on campus really 
advocated for, because other univer-
sities have quantified cost savings … 
(and have) reduced annual energy 
costs,” Simon said. “That allows you 
to have more discretionary revenue 
for other things that benefit students, 
and you reduce emissions.” 

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
2 — Wednesday, December 8, 2021 

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Despite energy use, safety protocols require campus spaces to remain lit

CAMPUS LIFE 

Ever wondered why University building 
lights stay on at night? Here’s why.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

ARJUN THAKKAR
Daily Staff Reporter

UMich removes two questions related to job 
applicants’ criminal history

Questions will still be asked during background check after accepting offer

PUBLIC SAFETY

In early November, the University 

of Michigan announced they would 
remove two questions related to 
job applicants’ criminal history and 
background.

These two questions previously 

asked if applicants have “been 
convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, 
including alcohol- or drug-related 
driving offenses” and if there are any 
felony charges currently pending 
against them. 

The University will still ask these 

questions 
during 
a 
background 

check after the job applicant has 
accepted the position, according to 
the University Record. 

The decision follows calls from 

criminal justice activists and student 

organizations to “ban the box,” which 
refers to employers that ask applicants 
to check a box indicating whether 
they have any criminal charges. In 
Aug. 2020, the University removed 
questions asking applicants about 
misdemeanor charges in applications 
for admission to the University.

University 
spokesperson 
Kim 

Broekhuizen told The Michigan Daily 
in an email that the decision was 
made to encourage job seekers by not 
initially disclosing their background 
to the University.

“The point of it is to conduct job 

interviews first and select candidates 
that 
are 
well 
qualified 
before 

conducting a background check and 
considering whether any convictions 
are job-related,” Broekhuizen said. 
“The process helps protect job 
candidates from disqualification based 
on a non-job-related conviction, and 

it helps job seekers simply feel more 
confident about applying without 
upfront disclosures that might cause 
good candidates to never apply.”

Broekhuizen 
also 
said 
the 

University studied other employers 
that removed this question from their 
application process, which ultimately 
encouraged them to do the same. 
Broekhuizen wrote in her email that 
the University’s decision to remove 
the two questions was not a result of 
campus activism.

“This change resulted from the 

desire to assess and recognize the 
impact on equity and inclusion 
in 
the 
University’s 
employment 

process. Although there is activist 
activity locally and nationally in 
support of banning the box, the 
University’s decision wasn’t related 
to campus activism or organizations,” 
Broekhuizen said.

Matthew 
Lassiter, 
history 

professor and co-director of the 
Carceral State Project, has been 
advocating for this change since 2019 
when he helped draft an open letter 
EditSign criticizing the University for 
implementing a new felony disclosure 
policy. The policy, known as SPG 
601.38, took effect in Feb. 2019 and 
requires all community members 
to report any felony convictions or 
charges to the University within a 
week or face penalties. 

Lassiter said the decision to 

remove the two questions is a step in 
the right direction, but said he was 
disappointed by how long it took 
to make the change and worries 
that it may not do enough to make a 
significant improvement.

CHRISTIAN JULIANO

Daily Staff Reporter

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

