ARCATA -- Humboldt State University students will have the power to take the university off the main energy grid in next week's campus elections.

A ballot initiative written by the Sustainable Campus Task Force is asking students if they would be willing to pay $10 extra a semester to be used for renewable energy projects on campus. If the measure passes, it will be the first of its kind in the nation, said Katie Harbaugh, a sociology senior and member of the Sustainable Campus Task Force.

"It's unique because it will all be student-designed projects," Harbaugh said. "All students will pay and benefit from it."

The measure would establish the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund, a student-run panel with faculty to oversee renewable energy projects. Students would come up with ideas, plans and designs for such projects and submit them to the panel for consideration. The projects could be anything having to do with renewable and sustainable energy, Harbaugh said, but solar and wind projects would be most suitable to the local bioregion.

Harbaugh said the Sustainable Campus Task Force has been displayed on HSU's quad for months trying to get students interested in the initiative. She said a variety of campus departments are intrigued by the initiative, especially the engineering, economic and sociology departments.

"It's going to be left open to students to see how we can make our campus better and more energy efficient," Harbaugh said. "It will not only be an amazing hands-on learning opportunity, but a way to get HSU off the energy grid. It will also make students more conscious of their energy consumption."

Harbaugh said the measure would be a way of empowering HSU students, and a way to put into action what students are taught.

"We are in a unique situation where we as students at HSU are very environmentally minded, however the campus is not a reflection of the policies we are taught," she said. "We're trying to make things taught in the classroom become a reality."

The state's energy crisis a few years ago was a contributing factor to California's plunging economy, which has had a direct hit on schools through budget cuts and fee increases, Harbaugh said. If the measure passes, she said, it will send a message to the rest of the state.

"This is a way for us to take control of our energy production," she said. "Ten dollars is a small price to pay for what you're getting in return, even with the terrible fee increases. It's the price of a movie and popcorn."

HSU's Physical Services Department would be responsible for the actual construction of the projects. However, last week the university laid off 23 employees in its Plant Operations Department, and more layoffs are looming on the horizon if the state's budget crisis isn't remedied soon. Harbaugh said it is unknown how possible layoffs would affect the measure if it passes.

"If the students do vote it in it will send a powerful message -- that we're willing to take on extra fees because this is so important to us," she said.

If the measure does pass, HSU is projected to meet all of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2043.

"This is long overdue at HSU," Harbaugh said. "We're very progressive here, and this is the next logical step."

To view the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund initiative, go to www.humboldt.edu/~sctf