The phrase "purified drinking water" appears on the label of every bottle of Aquafina water -- a phrase seeming to indicate superior quality over tap water.
But members of Environment, Ecology and Education in the College of Education (3E-COE) say Aquafina's bottled water is no different from what comes out of the faucet -- and they want Penn State to cease its contract with Aquafina to decrease plastic waste.
The environmental activist group set up a table between Willard Building and the Obelisk to raise awareness about its cause. Members of the group encouraged students to sign a petition and to rethink their lifestyle choices.
3E-COE members said getting rid of bottled water on campus would save students and the university money.
Some bottled water is more expensive per gallon than oil or milk. Buying six bottles of Aquafina at $1.50 each adds up to $9 per gallon.
The average American drinks 224 bottles of water at a typical price of $1.50 per 16 ounces, the group said. By switching to tap water, which costs $.002 per gallon, consumers can save $335.55 per year, said 3E-COE member Kevin May (freshman-film).
"For Penn State in particular, it isn't so bad, but what you find is that we have a 53 percent recycling rate," said 3E-COE President Peter Buckland (graduate-educational theory and policy). "That is really good by national standards, but still -- more than 40 percent is going to landfills. It's unintelligent and sort of immoral."
Rhianna Stockbridge (sophomore-secondary education) a member of 3E-COE, said most students don't realize what they have at Penn State.
"At Penn State, there is clean drinking water in the toilets on campus, and other countries don't even have drinking water," she said. "It's not a matter of convenience to spend over $300 a year on bottled water."
Jared Blumer (junior-secondary education) thinks drinking bottled water is not only environmentally unfriendly but also is a human rights crime. Drinking water is often taken by multinational companies first and then dispersed to the people, he said.
Buckland said 3E-COE is on the cutting-edge. The university has already improved its water infrastructure by installing "hydration stations" where students can fill reusable water bottles. The university has installed one station in the HUB-Robeson Center and is set to put four more in place -- spread out between Willard Building, Rec Hall, Chambers Building and Thomas Building -- by November, Buckland said.
Zachary Sobel (junior-Spanish), who stopped by to sign the petition, said he grew up on Long Island and never drank tap water before coming to Penn State because his family had a well. But he doesn't mind it now.
"I like how tap water tastes -- the money saved can be used for more important things," he said.
