Opposition to a plan to replace the University of Toronto‘s Back Campus with astro-turf has added a celebrity voice to its arsenal. Alumnus Margaret Atwood took to Twitter this week to voice her concerns over the construction of two artificial turf field hockey pitches on one of the school’s most used green spaces. 

The plan is part of preparations for the 2015 Pan-Am Games and would see the University receive just over half of the funding for the project from Pan Am organizers.

Atwood, who opposes the plan on environmental grounds is using social media to express her concern. She is also supporting a campaign on Charge.org, an online petitioning site, and has suggested that she would withdraw future donations to the University should they go through with this plan.

A host of students and professors have expressed concern over the proposed plan’s effect on the sustainability of existing sewage infrastructure and the possibility for chemicals to leach into the water system. They are also concerned about whether the turf will suit the heritage buildings that will surround it and about ill effects on student life. The field is currently used for a variety of organized and spontaneous activities from frisbee to soccer and football, things that may not be practical on the new artificial fields. University officials have argued that the environmental effects will be “negligible” and that the new field surface would increase the time that the field is useable by three-fold.

To have your say in the conversation, visit the Facebook page or Twitter account.

[via Varsity and Globe and Mail]

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Eva Voinigescu is an intern at Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter @EvaVoinigescu.

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