Spring Break
Student disappointed with lack of recycling after water contamination
Issue date: 10/24/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion
10/24/08 - Every morning I am greeted by the University of Rhode Island's new slogan of "Think Big. We Do," accompanied by the school emblem and an image of the earth.
From talking with my professors and peers alike, the general idea I draw from the campaign is that URI is well suited for the ever-changing global society, and is well-prepared to tackle any issues, local and global, that come its way.
For a school that boasts such worldliness and high level thinking, it amazes me that this water crisis is being handled so poorly.
When URI was told last Friday that the water tested positive for fecal coliform bacteria, why weren't we told until Sunday morning?
And more importantly, why was our only notification from an e-mail?
And while URI has done its part to provide students with bottled water at the dining halls, its attempts still fell short of my expectations.
Yesterday while sitting in Hope Commons, I watched maybe 100 water bottles get thrown into the garbage.
In order to provide dining students with enough water, more than 10,000 bottles are given away every day.
And for a school that proudly states on its Web site that "URI Recycling will go out of our way to help you recycle," doesn't anybody else find it ironic that URI skips over all of these water bottles?
When talking to an URI dining staff member who wished to go unnamed, she said that neither of the two dining halls had made an effort to recycle the bottles that students return empty on the conveyer belts.
Certain staff members have tried to take the recycling issue into their own hands, but regulations prevent them from being able to do so.
So why hasn't anything been done to solve this problem yet? Why are the dining services being so careless with refuse that could take up to 1,000 years to degrade?
Why is URI not being more attentive to a problem that ties into so many important environmental issues?
I am disappointed that URI has not done its part in this water crisis, and hope to see change soon.
Michaela Cashman
From talking with my professors and peers alike, the general idea I draw from the campaign is that URI is well suited for the ever-changing global society, and is well-prepared to tackle any issues, local and global, that come its way.
For a school that boasts such worldliness and high level thinking, it amazes me that this water crisis is being handled so poorly.
When URI was told last Friday that the water tested positive for fecal coliform bacteria, why weren't we told until Sunday morning?
And more importantly, why was our only notification from an e-mail?
And while URI has done its part to provide students with bottled water at the dining halls, its attempts still fell short of my expectations.
Yesterday while sitting in Hope Commons, I watched maybe 100 water bottles get thrown into the garbage.
In order to provide dining students with enough water, more than 10,000 bottles are given away every day.
And for a school that proudly states on its Web site that "URI Recycling will go out of our way to help you recycle," doesn't anybody else find it ironic that URI skips over all of these water bottles?
When talking to an URI dining staff member who wished to go unnamed, she said that neither of the two dining halls had made an effort to recycle the bottles that students return empty on the conveyer belts.
Certain staff members have tried to take the recycling issue into their own hands, but regulations prevent them from being able to do so.
So why hasn't anything been done to solve this problem yet? Why are the dining services being so careless with refuse that could take up to 1,000 years to degrade?
Why is URI not being more attentive to a problem that ties into so many important environmental issues?
I am disappointed that URI has not done its part in this water crisis, and hope to see change soon.
Michaela Cashman
