Last week, approximately 300 students signed a petition to stop the sale of Cobber Water on Concordia’s campus. The Student Environmental Alliance promoted this petition throughout Feb. 4-7, aiming to make a positive change on campus.
Throughout the week, events were held that focused on working toward an environmentally friendly campus. On Monday, SEA set up in the Atrium to inform students of the main environmental issues plastic bottles create. Other campus organizations joined in over the next few days.
For example, the Campus Democrats hosted an event on Tuesday, which focused on political aspects of water bottle consumerism, and Student Government Association (SGA) hosted an event on social justice on Wednesday. The main goal of involving so many organizations was to promote the importance of social change on campus. With three organizations versus one, students were able to target a much larger audience.
The Cobber Bookstore hosted a Reusable Water Bottle Sale on Thursday, complete with a table of sale items available in the Atrium. Forty-five reusable water bottles were sold at 20 and 50 percent off. The Bookstore made a total profit of $577 from the sales.
According to the Bookstore, sales far exceeded what was expected. The slogan, as was printed on some of the water bottles, was “Refill, Not Landfill.” The Bookstore was happy to participate and will be looking forward to many more opportunities such as this.
As posters showed throughout the week, $15 billion is spent annually on bottled water, and the average number of water bottles thrown, per person, is 167 per year. So, in comparison, buying a reusable water bottle at about $20 could save money and the planet at the same time.
SEA is currently working to create a more sustainable campus by eventually eliminated all plastic water bottles on campus, as other campuses around the nation are doing. Eliminating Cobber Water is their first step because it would improve the campus’s overall sustainability efforts by decreasing the amount of plastic used. If students stop buying this bottled water, SEA argues that sales will decrease, little revenue will be made and Concordia will have to stop the sales all together; students will also be taking part in creating a more sustainable campus.
If Cobber Water is taken off campus, SEA hypothesizes that the sales of reusable water bottles at The Cobber Bookstore will go up and all the profits made will go straight back to the college. The organization’s goal is not to hurt or go against the college; it is to make a positive step toward a more sustainable campus.
SEA urges students to head to the Bookstore and purchase a reusable water bottle. Most are priced at $19.99 or lower, and some are still on clearance. It may seem like an expensive purchase at first, but SEA believes it is simply an investment.
