More Water, Fewer Problems

By Lizbeth Tejada

Jambar Contributor

In 2014, a survey was administered to students by the Youngstown State University Student Government Association asking if they would be interested in more water bottle refill stations being placed around campus, and the response was overwhelming.

“It’s all up in the air as of right now,” Rayann Atway, president of SGA, said. “We don’t have any numbers as to how many stations could be put up, as we are still trying to secure funding.”

Atway said SGA would love to place the refill stations where the traffic is high on campus and in more academic buildings that do not already have one.

According to the 2014 survey, many students were interested.

“SGA wanted to do this in order to continue our movement to reduce waste and to promote environmental sustainability,” Atway said.

Atway said SGA has seen a decrease in plastic bottle waste around campus. She said the number of students using the stations around campus is increasing every day.

“Over 250,000 water bottles have been refilled, and this is probably a low estimate since the numbers reset every time a station is unplugged,” Atway said.

Atway said she believes all students will make use of the new stations based on the success of the current ones.

Christiana Savo, sophomore in persuasive communication studies, lives on campus in University Edge and said that she thinks the stations would save water bottle expenses.

“I use the one in the rec center, but I buy bottled water regularly,” Savo said.

Students like Hannah Berni, senior in special education studies, said they don’t use the stations.

“Yes, I have seen the stations around campus, but I don’t like to use them because I don’t like how the water tastes,” Berni said.

Savon Rodgers, sophomore in English studies, said he does not use these refill stations either.

“I see them all the time, but I often buy water bottles instead of using refillable ones. I do think it’s a smart idea to put more around campus to encourage more people to use reusable water bottles,” Rodgers said.

Nasir Watson, junior in communication media track studies, said these stations should be all over campus.

“I use the stations a lot, almost every day. They should have way more on campus like on every floor in the library because the other water fountains taste strange to me,” Watson said.

Buying bottled water almost every week can be costly. Watson said he hates buying bottled water on campus.

“I’d rather bring a reusable bottle and just fill it up,” Watson said.

Phillip Hudson, senior in communication studies, said these stations are convenient for students.

“It would save money for the students because the water is free,” Hudson said.

Students can contact Atway for more information about the water bottle refill stations at [email protected].