It's Saturday afternoon and I'm at the football game. As far as the eye can see, the entire scene is full of orange-clad students. The sun is boiling hot, the temperature steadily rising past 90 degrees. Already, the heat has become unbearable. I would kill for an ice-cold bottle of water.
This year, I happen to be in luck. Student Council has announced a new program to make water available to students when the heat index is forecasted to be 90 degrees or higher. My first-year, however, I wasn't so fortunate. To my first game I wore the typical tie and dress shirt, so I wasn't very well prepared to deal with the blistering heat that accompanied our blistering defeat to USC. The temperature peaked in the nineties, reducing me to a parched, sweaty, blithering first-year. I needed water. But, to my horror, I saw that a single bottle of water cost over three bucks. What kind of system was this? Why couldn't free water be provided at the game? Sure, I could go to a water fountain, but who wants to make the trek there to wait in line for lukewarm water? What was even worse is that the concessions have a monopoly over the refreshments, seeing as you can't bring in any outside liquids into games. Why can't they at least allow students to bring in unopened bottles of their own water? Luckily, I wasn't the first to be left out to dry (literally) at home football games, and people with more power, influence and insight than me decided to act.
The Student Council's innovative program was enacted to "help ensure student safety during football games," according to Student Council President John Nelson. And it is definitely a big step in the right direction. Based on the stipulations of the program, if the temperature index is forecasted to be 90 degrees or above by 5 p.m. the preceding day, then a free bottle of water will be available for every needy University student who presents a valid student ID. Upon receiving the water, the student will have his or her hand stamped to ensure no one gets more than one. And, in an effort to "balance safety concerns with the environmental impact of any program of this magnitude", which was another factor of the program according to Nelson, recycling bins will be placed strategically throughout the student section, so that every student can do their part in keeping our great University eco-friendly. Currently, this program is being funded by contributions from Student Council, the Inter-Fraternity Council, and the Inter-Sorority Council.
Student Council's initiative is undoubtedly a turning point in student safety at football games. But I think it can be taken one step further. Provide free water to students at all home football games, or at least in the games during the end of summer and beginning of fall. After all, every student has different responses to heat; what may be debilitating temperatures for one student may have no effect on another. This could greatly increase the comfort of many students at games and make Saturday afternoons an overall more enjoyable experience. The biggest problem stems from funding - the Student Council has limited resources with which to enact their programs. Granted, this type of program would be pretty expensive, and, according to John Nelson, the funding would have to come "entirely from non-SAF sources." That means that the Student Council will have to find other means of contributions, which of course is always difficult. Still, having free water at all games would make a huge difference on Saturday afternoons. Hopefully the Student Council will find some way to further their programs.
Danny Di Giulio is a Viewpoint writer for The Cavalier Daily.
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