By Rachel Lippmann, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Washington University students will not be able to purchase bottled water on the Danforth campus when they return from winter break. The decision is part of the university administration's efforts to "green" the campus. A campaign to educate students about the decision kicked off Monday.
Junior Kady McFadden, the student Academic Affairs chair, is in charge of that education campaign and admits the move is largely symbolic. "Things like this and things like recycling aren't what will make the biggest impact in the university being sustainable, but if we can't do these things, then it's hard to show we're doing well on other fronts," she said.
The university provided freshmen and sophomores with reusable plastic Nalgene bottles, and the student council is also selling the bottles.
The Catholic high school Nerinx Hall phased out bottled water last year. And in August, Mayor Francis Slay banned executive departments from purchasing bottled water except in emergencies.