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Kennedy School Student Government Leads on Bottled Water Issue Student Government Votes to Halt Use of Student Activity Fees for Bottled Water MARCH 14 – Citing fiscal responsibility and environmental concerns, the Kennedy School Student Government voted this week to halt funding for bottled water at events funded by student activity fees. Instead of filling requests for bottled water, Sodexho will provide pitchers of ice water at student group events receiving funding from KSSG. The measure, which passed by a 21-4 vote, will stretch valuable student activity dollars and eliminate waste. “Student government representatives approved this measure by an overwhelming majority,” said Doug Levine, MPA 2008 and President of the Kennedy School Student Government. “Support for this measure demonstrates that HKS students are concerned about the consequences of using bottled water, and it sends a clear signal to Executive Education, the Institute of Politics, and other Harvard organizations who might consider similar steps.” The HKS administration requires that any event held on the Harvard Kennedy School campus use Sodexho as the sole provider of food and beverages. Sodexho charges $1.15 for a 12-ounce bottle of water, and $1.50 for a half-gallon pitcher of ice water. Because Sodexho charges by individual unit, student groups cannot benefit from economies of scale in purchasing multiple bottles. At such prices, bottled water costs $11 per gallon, while pitchers of water cost $3 per gallon. Student groups submit line item budget requests to KSSG, but can use their allocated funding as they wish. When a student group receives a $100 allocation, for example, the $8 they save on a gallon of water could be used to purchase more food or other beverages. “There is a perfectly good alternative to bottled water: water from the tap,” said Matt Wilson, MC/MPA 2008. Wilson introduced the measure for debate at the February 28 meeting of the KSSG. “Forty percent of bottled water is tap water, and public water sources have more rigorous testing than bottled water sources. It is a fallacy to consider bottled water as healthier than tap water.” “When water is bottled in plastic made from petroleum, trucked 150 miles to get here and all too often ends up in landfills, it is a misuse of our limited resources,” Wilson continued. Wilson is the chair of the Board of Directors of Corporate Accountability International, a Boston-based NGO that is leading the "Think Outside the Bottle" program to reduce bottled water use across the country. Students expressing concerns included Ben Polk, MPP 2009, who preferred an educational campaign informing students about the environmental consequences of using bottled water. “I’ve made a personal decision not to buy bottled water, but I don’t believe this policy meets the threshold for telling a group of student leaders what they can and cannot buy. Students might very well choose to substitute bottled sodas for bottled water, which will have the exact same environmental consequences while eliminating a healthy beverage option,” said Polk. The measure will be in effect through the end of the academic year. Only an amendment to the KSSG Bylaws, which requires a two-thirds majority vote of the student government, would bind future student government administrations. Building on the KSSG vote, Wilson is working with the Harvard Green Campus Initiative to reach out to the other Centers and programs at HKS to cut their use of bottled water. * * * FAIR USE NOTICE
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