THE TUFTS DAILY
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TUFTSDAILY.COM
MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011
VOLUME LXI, NUMBER 2
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
New ‘hydration stations’ Textbook rentals now an facilitate reusable bottle use option at campus bookstore BY JENNY
WHITE
Daily Editorial Board
Facilities Services over winter break installed two new Brita Hydration Stations on campus in an attempt to encourage the use of reusable water bottles. The stations’ water dispensers are specifically designed to fill reusable containers and their installation aims to encourage students to rely less on bottled water, according to Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos. One of the two stations, located beside the plasticware and paper goods for the Commons Deli & Grill in the Mayer Campus Center, is the result of a joint effort between former Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Alice Pang and Tufts Dining Services. Pang, a sophomore who is currently abroad, said concerns about the detrimental impact of bottled water last spring led her to launch a project through the TCU Senate’s Services Committee that focused on increasing student access to water dispensers around campus. “I wanted to explore how to reduce the number of plastic water bottles used on campus, as they are a terrible waste of resources,” Pang said in an e-mail to the Daily. “The alternative to bottled water is obviously a reusable one, but I found that there was a lack of places for students to fill their reusable water bottles.” Office of Sustainability Program Director Tina Woolston said that the dispensers are a preferable alternative to water fountains or bathroom sinks for students who are trying to adopt greener drinking habits. Pang said that she decided on Brita Hydration Stations as a practical option for Tufts students after researching the emerging trend of similar stations appearing on college campuses around the country. The wall-mounted Hydration Stations dispense filtered water and are touch-free, activated by a motion sensor. Brita markets its filtered water
as a healthier drinking option to standard tap water. Klos said that the Campus Center was chosen as the location for one of the dispensers because of its centrality to student activity and an insufficient number of existing free drinking water options in the building. Facilities over the winter break also installed a second Hydration Station in the lobby of Hodgdon Hall, which receives frequent foot traffic as an entrance to Hodgdon Good-to-Go. Senior Director of Health and Wellness for Health Services Michelle Bowdler has noticed a decreasing number of drinking water fountains inside campus buildings over the last two decades. “For the past several years, there has been more of an interest in students drinking bottled water, so they weren’t as interested in having public access to water fountains,” Bowdler said. “But that’s really shifted over the past couple of years.” She added that increased access to drinking water on campus would also encourage healthier lifestyles among students. “There’s no substitute to drinking water in terms of overall impact of health,” Bowdler said. Klos emphasized that the campus center Hydration Station is a pilot initiative, and that student response and usage will determine whether more like it will be installed elsewhere on campus. Woolston further emphasized the importance student feedback. “If students really like it and use it, it could lead to more around campus,” Woolston added. Last semester, Woolston co-taught an Experimental College class entitled Environmental Action: Shifting from Saying to Doing, which concentrated on a semester-long campaign to reduce bottled water waste. Though the class poster campaign was not directly involved with the
RACHEL RAMPINO
Daily Editorial Board
School of Engineering Dean Linda Abriola was recognized as one of 500 influential 20thcentury women in the sciences with an entry in a recently published encyclopedia. “American Women of Science since 1900,” (ABC-CLIO/ Greenwood), published in October of 2010, honors women whose achievements may have been previously overlooked or undervalued, according to a Dec. 31 press release. “I’m very honored to be included in this encyclopedia with so many remarkable people; it’s very humbling,”
CORINNE SEGAL
Daily Editorial Board
Students shopping for textbooks this semester now have a new way to get their books on campus. The campus bookstore is piloting a yearlong textbook rental program that will allow students to rent books for many large, entry-level classes at up to half the price of a new book, according to Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos. Klos and sophomore Meredith Goldberg, chair of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate’s Services Committee, hope the program will help the bookstore compete with online textbook sales. “I think it’s an amazing draw,” Goldberg said. “The bookstore is now being competitive with the online market again.” Sophomore Orli Gottlieb rented textbooks from the bookstore for this semester’s Introduction to International
Relations class. She found that the program saved her money and time. “It was less expensive,” Gottlieb said. “It seemed easier to deal with than buying them and trying to sell them back to someone or sell them back to the bookstore — it was just simple.” Students who rent books are required to return them to the bookstore during the final exam period. Barnes & Noble, the distributor for the campus bookstore, piloted textbook rentals at 25 other schools last January, according to Karen DiScala, manager of corporate communications for Barnes & Noble. She said that the rental program aims to provide students with more options while shopping for textbooks. “From our perspective, we just want to give students another option in terms of how they get books,” DiScala said. “One of the things we’re committed to is see TEXTBOOKS, page 2
DANAI MACRIDI/TUFTS DAILY
see WATER, page 2
Dean ranked among top women in science BY
BY
Abriola said. The website of the encyclopedia’s publisher describes the two-volume book as a record of the achievements of modern female scientists despite their being underrepresented in science professions. The encyclopedia provides “a rich historical context for understanding their achievements and the way they changed the practice of science,” according to the publisher’s description. Abriola said she has a personal understanding of the value of female leaders in science. “As a young person, I never
Students can now rent textbooks from the campus bookstore thanks to a pilot program.
Sophomore senator, QSA rep resign from TCU Senate Sophomore Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Tabias Wilson announced his resignation from the TCU Senate yesterday in an e-mail to the body citing personal reasons, according to TCU Historian Tomas Garcia. “My time in Senate was well-spent and quite insightful,” Wilson said in an e-mail to the Daily. “However, I believe it is time for me to focus more earnestly on issues of personal import. I wish Senate the best of luck.” A special election will be held to fill the seat, although Garcia said that the Senate’s executive board and Tufts Election Commission (ECOM) will first meet to determine the details of
the election. “It has to be discussed by the exec board and ECOM,” he said. “We were just informed of the resignation today.” Sophomore Alex Lis-Perlis at last night’s Senate meeting also announced her resignation as the Senate’s community representative for the Queer Straight Alliance (QSA), also due to personal reasons. Lis-Perlis assured those present of her ability to find a competent replacement for the position and said that she will continue collaboration with the Senate on future projects. “I plan on staying involved with a lot of projects that overlap with Senate,” Lis-Perlis said. She will be replaced in an internal election within the QSA. Lis-Perlis said she would attempt to include a larger seg-
ment of the student population when attempting to find her replacement. “Usually in the past, only active members of QSA have attended, but I’m planning on reaching out to the larger community and let related groups know the position is open if their members are interested,” Lis-Perlis said. Lis-Perlis added that her service with the body has been a positive experience. Also at the meeting, the body elected Senator Joe Donenfeld, a freshman, to replace Senator Dan Pasternack, a senior, as the chair of Allocations Board Council IV, which oversees the budgets of religious groups. —by Kathryn Olson, with contributed reporting from Martha Shanahan
see ABRIOLA, page 2
Inside this issue
Today’s Sections
Tufts Mock Trial is looking to cash in on its freshman talent this spring.
‘No Strings Attached’ makes for an unimaginative and sparkless romantic comedy.
see FEATURES, page 3
see ARTS, page 5
News Features Arts | Living Editorial | Letters
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