On Sep. 16, Oakland University’s Student Congress (OUSC) passed a resolution opposing the construction of a new data center on campus. Large amounts of energy and water usage, with few opportunities for student or faculty involvement, are the main reasons for opposition.
A data center is a facility where information technology infrastructure is used to build, run and deliver applications and services. While they offer many revenue opportunities in the digital age of AI, they are also under scrutiny due to their negative environmental impact.
“Oakland University Student Congress stands firmly in opposition to the data centre listed in Oakland University’s Request for Proposal,” OUSC resolution C.R. 68-12, read.
Sponsor of the resolution, Valentine Fayette-Étés, OUSC legislator and judiciary chair, explained that the main reasons for opposition are its potential impact on the natural reserve, the Native American Heritage Site and a concern for the regulations around its usage.
“Apparently, there were many organizations on campus that [the data center] would affect that just were not consulted at all,” Fayette-Étés said. “Many students don’t see any benefits. The only benefits that have been proposed to me are that it would make money for the university, which doesn’t benefit professors and doesn’t benefit students.”
The facility — tentatively located on P35, adjacent to the DTE substantiation — provides revenue opportunities, internship and research opportunities and boosts OU’s “strategic priorities such as smart campus technology, artificial intelligence research and digital learning,” the university said in its June 27 Request for Proposal.
The RFP was intended to attract specialized candidates to consolidate the project’s pre-development phase by the end of September. Among some of the clauses in the RFP, the negotiable land lease agreement stands as a point of contention for OUSC.
“The Student Congress is opposed to the idea of Oakland University not being the primary tenant,” OUSC said in resolution C.R. 68-12. “We as a Student Congress do not align with the proposal to lease the data center to an outside company as it would not generate jobs for students or alumni and would not guarantee any other benefits for the student body.”
With no contract signed with any candidate yet, the terms and guarantees of student and faculty involvement with the data center remain in the air. Similar controversy arises with the lack of regulation at the facility due to zoning policies.
“We as a Student Congress understand that by leasing out the data center that the company in charge would be the main employing body, which would not guarantee a place for qualified students and alumni who may be willing to work for this company,” OUSC said in resolution C.R. 68-12.
With a record of damaging bodies of water or causing energy shortages, the environmental impacts of the proposed facility were yet another cause for opposition among student leaders.
“The Student Congress is opposed to the 5-acres of proposed work land on P-35 to be used in the manufacturing of this data center,” OUSC said in resolution C.R. 68-12. “This is a threat to the natural environments that we have maintained on campus.”
Students, faculty and campus organizations signed the resolution opposing the data center. Discussions with the Campus Development and Environment Committee (CDEC), student organizations and people in the data center business have continued as the resolution makes its way to OU admin, Fayette-Étés explained.
“Pretty much every student I’ve talked to, besides, like maybe one or two — and I talked to probably about 50 students at this point about it — they’re all opposed to it,” Fayette-Étés said. “Once we get more information, we could see if we can make those documents public so the students can read over them and educate themselves on it.”
