Contributed by Sean Dunn, graduate assistant for Recreation, Park and Leisure Studies –
A student coalition calling for a ban on the sale of single-use plastic water bottles on Cortland’s campus has gathered more than 650 signatures over the course of the fall semester. Under the leadership of Cortland graduate students Olivia Terry and Sean Dunn, the Clean Water Coalition (CWC) has spotlighted the environmental and social problems associated with the bottled water industry through informative tabling exhibits and educational events. By collaborating with a number of environmental organizations and academic departments on campus, Terry and Dunn’s cause has recognized a fundamental incompatibility between the sale of bottled water and the college’s sustainability goals.
An independently organized student group, the CWC formed last spring following the Sociology/ Anthropology department’s screening of Tapped, an environmental documentary detailing the noxious health effects and social injustices associated with the bottled water industry. Channeling the momentum of a productive spring semester, the CWC hit the ground running this fall, acquiring the signatures of more than 60 student clubs at the SGA’s annual club fair in early September. Since then, the CWC has held a number of educational events, including a free reusable water bottle giveaway and a Sandwich Seminar. With the support of the SUNY Cortland Green Reps, the Cortland NYPIRG office, and students in Dr. Gigi Peterson’s pre-student teaching seminar, the CWC’s tabling events have played a crucial role in spreading awareness of the issue of bottled water on Cortland’s campus.
The movement comes at a time of ambitious environmental activism infiltrating the nation’s collegiate system. Flying the banner of the Food and Water Watch’s Take Back the Tap campaign, more than 70 colleges and universities have implemented partial or full bans on the sale of single-use plastic water bottles since 2005. A student-led climate change protest disrupted a football game between Harvard and Yale for nearly an hour on Saturday, while activists in California successfully lobbied for the UC system to divest from fossil fuels last month. As the effects of global climate change become jarringly embedded in our day-to-day reality, activist groups on college campuses are mounting a defense against environmental destruction.
Riding the high of a successful fall campaign, the CWC is looking to solidify the public right to clean, free drinking water in the spring semester. With the Auxiliary Services Corporation’s (ASC) contract with Coca-Cola expiring in July of 2020, the administration has an opportunity to re-write the contract and eliminate the sale of bottled water on Cortland’s campus. The ban would fall in line with the college’s prominent sustainability initiatives, which include the construction of a LEED Platinum residence hall, the development of a large-scale solar panel field, and the signing of the American College and University Climate Commitment. As the groundswell of collegiate environmentalism continues to demand action from administrative officials, the elimination of bottled water may be Cortland’s next step towards ensuring a sustainable future.
