Photo by Alec Vick’15 — Sophomore Cade Hawkins ’17 fills up his water bottle in the new drinking fountain in Brophy Hall.

By Gabe Morrison ’17
The Roundup

The bell rings for second period with students rushing to their classes.

In Brophy Hall, a small crowd of students has collected near the Dean’s office, waiting to fill their water bottles from the new bottle filler.

This machine, an ELKAY Bottle Filling Station, is fantastic, and Brophy should add more, ideally one in every building.

There are two filling stations at Brophy, the second being at Brophy Aquatic Center.

As of Oct. 14, the machine reads that it has filled over 12,900 bottles, and we have had approximately 50 days of school.

This means that an average of 258 bottles are filled each day.

I think that number speaks for itself both in the amount of water consumed and plastic bottles saved.

I understand that these machines are expensive; according to ELKAY’s website, machines hover around $2,000, not including installation.

Though there is a second filling station, it is inaccessible during the day, and therefore it plays no part in hydrating students during school hours.

I would dispute the argument that the cost outweighs the benefits for two reasons.

First, we live in a desert and must stay hydrated; the filling station is the easiest and fastest way of quenching students’ thirst.

Second, and most importantly, the student population of Brophy has demonstrated that it appreciates the filling station.

Recognizing that it may not be possible to install three other ELKAY devices for various reasons, I believe that a bottle filler on the first floor of Piper would be most effective.

It would be useful to all students in Piper, and it would also serve everyone in the Great Hall and surrounding areas during break and lunch.

Brophy’s bottle filler is useful to and appreciated by many students, and I encourage more fillers be installed.