Chancellor James Oblinger discussed a list of proposals to improve N.C. State at the Student Senate meeting Wednesday night, including energy efficiency and campus safety.

According to Oblinger, energy efficiency will be a priority for the future, and he said he signed onto the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment Tuesday.

By signing this, he agreed to complete an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions after one year, and have a plan to be climate neutral in two years, according to the Commitment’s Web site.

Bobby Mills, student body president and junior in political science and economics, said Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill has also joined the Committee, and that this a “huge step in the right direction.”

The University would save money over time despite costs for new equipment, Mills said, because of the decreased energy use.

One of the ways he mentioned conserving energy was through the use of light-emitting diode, or LED, technology.

“We will be doing a lot of things with LED technology,” he said.

Facilities is looking into converting a parking deck on campus to LED lighting, and is considering them in residence halls, according to Oblinger.

He also encouraged students to win the Water Conservation Challenge against UNC-Chapel Hill.

“We need to beat them and beat them seriously,” he said.

Oblinger also discussed campus safety, referencing the emergency text-messaging system and the Wolfpack Audible Alert System.

There will be a test for the text-messaging system Feb. 8, Oblinger said, followed by a broader test later in the month.

The text-message system would not have been of much use during this month’s campus-wide power outage, he said, but the Audible Alert System may have been.

For the Audible Alert System, he said three of the 11 towers were still in preparation, and adaptive pieces of steel are being built for them.

Oblinger also said Talley Student Center needs to be renovated into a “complex and tremendous facility,” but that it will be expensive.

The renovation will include a significant dining expansion, according to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Tom Stafford.

Another of his points was the need to fuel economic development, and Oblinger said the University needs to emphasize its expansion beyond the departments its known for.

“[NCSU] has certainly grown beyond agriculture, and has certainly grown beyond engineering,” he said.

Administrators have met with a marketing firm recently to help promote the University, and he said the renovation of the Web site has aided in this effort.

“I can’t tell you how positively the Web site [renovation] has been received,” he said.

The UNC-Tomorrow program was another issue discussed. The program, which Oblinger said involved UNC President Erskine Bowles visiting the campuses in the UNC system, gives representatives from each school a chance to voice their concerns.

Jay Dawkins, junior in civil engineering and student senator, said it was nice for Oblinger to come and give them a big picture.

“Who doesn’t love James Oblinger?” he asked.

Ernie McAlister, former mayor of Cary, also spoke at the meeting.

He spoke about the upcoming elections, emphasizing how decisions by voters in Cary will affect students at NCSU.

Ben Mazur, a senior in religious studies and a member of the Senate President’s cabinet, said that while he felt students were more concerned about matters in Raleigh, it is important to know about communities nearby.

Mazur also said he has mixed feelings about Oblinger’s speech.

“It makes me feel good about the future of the institution,” he said. “But it worries me that while focusing on the four or five things he listed, that he’ll ignore other issues that need to be addressed.”