Issue date: 9/8/08 Section: Money/Health

Silas Thompson

While millions of Indians sit homeless as the surge recedes, as Haitians and Jamaicans rebuild homes and bury the lost, and as our Gulf Coast soaks in a broth of waste and destruction, it is impossible to ignore the power of water. As college students we have begun to expect more from both our minds and our bodies and we must not forget the abilities and the necessity of this three-part chemical.

We have all been bored silly as teachers and parents lectured about how it is so important to drink water. We heard the eight-glass rule, and then we saw it disproven. Many of us choose Gatorade for its electrolytic benefits and its impeccable marketing strategies. However, the truth is we all need water.

We have some of the cleanest and safest in the world. There is no need to bottle it, we do not need to feed our vanity by taking it from some exotic island. We just need the water that comes out of our faucets.

As members of a society that values the health of the public, we have the privilege of having water treatment facilities that clean and distribute potable water directly to our homes. We need to realize that water is the original "Life Water" and that it is the most abundant chemical in our bodies. In order to lead a healthy lifestyle, we need to keep an effective amount of water in our bodies to avoid dehydration.

There are many factors that play into the dehydration of one's body. The excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, physical exertion, heat and illness can all cause our bodies to lose water. If we look around at our campus environment we encounter many of these factors quite regularly.

For the drinkers who spend late nights on Water Street or at house parties, hangovers are largely due to the body's lack of water, thus causing a headache. The students who live on campus all know the feeling we get as we plod up the hill after a long day of classes, realizing that we probably should have stopped at the drinking fountain a few more times as our heads begin to get lighter. Combining said factors does not help either, nor would it be an amusing task to attempt to conquer the hill in a boozed-up state on a hot day, while fending off the flu. You may laugh, but I'm sure at least a few of us have had a similar experience.

I guess what I am trying to say is that we live in a world where many are less fortunate; many of whom do not have access to clean drinkable water and die because they do not have access to the tools necessary to survive. Let's not take our access to these tools for granted by refusing the tap water because Aquafina is only a dollar - because that comes from the tap too. It is wrong to have access to the necessities only to abandon them in the name of social acceptance and convenience.

Our bodies need water. We do not need to ship it to the U.S. from Fiji; instead we should ship it from Fiji to Zimbabwe, Uganda, Sudan,and anywhere else that has a limited supply of water. As members of a society that values the health of its citizens, we just need to drink the stuff that comes to our hallway drinking fountain, bathroom sink and kitchen. So save the water bottles you have, refill them and use them again as you continue to stay hydrated.

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