Oak Leaves

April 6, 2018


As new information dictates, water is no longer necessary for life; as such, the university hopes to eventually eradicate all sources of water on campus, including the outdoor fountains. The goal is to replace the water with energy drinks so that the squirrels may benefit as well.

Photo by Ciara Knisely

Energy Drinks More Effective than Water; Replacing Fountains

Avis McGovern 

Manchester University will be replacing the water stations with energy drink stations beginning Fall 2018 at all refill locations.

Following a study, the Environmental Studies program recommended implementing energy drinks on campus due to students requesting a beverage with flavor to be placed in the refill machines. “A yearlong research opportunity documented that greater than 75% of the student body preferred bottled water over the refilling stations,” says Herb Manifold, Environmental Studies Grants Coordinator. “The data documented that 25% of the students actively used the water filling stations. 15% of the students were not aware the university provided these stations. 20% preferred the taste of bottled water. 35% were too lazy to stand up and go to filling station and the final 5% do not believe water and plastic are not important enough to save.”

In the beginning, the Environmental Studies program donated and funded the water stations that were installed in multiple buildings around campus to help ensure a decrease in plastic water bottles by providing areas where students could fill up their own bottles while monitoring the number of plastic bottles being saved.

Much of the yearlong research was done in private amongst professors, alongside science majors, who began looking into the amount of water being consumed on campus by having students and faculty consume a set amount of water a day, while others were given an energy drink. As the research was being conducted, it was a surprise to all when the students who were consuming water were experiencing more fatigue throughout the day than the students who were drinking the energy drink. 

“Research has found that water is not an essential component of life as many have long believed,” Manifold says. “Caffeine is 75 times more important than water in the world. Additional research has shown that caffeine is the primary factor in the ability of universities to operate on daily basis. This research has led to the integration of high caffeine energy drink to be available at all filling stations.”

The replacement is predicted to help students in the classroom. “These energy drinks allow students to be more coherent during lectures and engage in classroom learning more effectively,” Manifold says. “Many students have mastered the art of procrastination and cram many hours or workload into a single night.  These energy drink filling stations will allow student to lengthen the duration of time in which they can complete assignment.  Faculty and Staff regularly consume caffeine in the form of coffee to prepare for daily tasks. These filling stations will provide additional options for when grading assignments become tedious.”

The Environmental Studies program will also be installing more stations so that students will have the opportunity to fill up their water bottles with the energy drink in more areas such as each floor of the library and in all residence halls.