Amy Husser, Canwest News Service, September 1, 2008, OTTAWA - As students across the country head back to university and college campuses this week, a national report suggests they could find themselves a little thirsty - at least if their wallets are empty.
An online survey of Canadian campuses found that 44 per cent of respondents noted a reduction in the number of drinking water fountains on campus. Another 43 per cent said there were delays in repairing existing water fountains. However, 94 per cent knew of an exclusive beverage arrangement with a corporation.
The study - completed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, CUPE and the Polaris Institute - was meant to document the commercial and corporate presence on Canadian campuses. It surveyed 85 people from 48 institutions.
"These are trends that we knew were taking place and we knew they were on the increase," said Erika Shaker, of the CCPA. "I don't think you'd find many people who would argue that there is less commercialism on university campuses."
Shaker argued that as university budgets are being depleted, the schools look for other ways to make money, sometimes resulting in a corporate partnership between the institution and a private donor or business - like a beverage company, which often set quotas on consumption in order for institutions to receive the best deal possible or other financial perks.
"It is then actually in the university's best interest to promote consumption of the product as much as you possibly can, and conceivably, limit consumption of the competition," said Shaker. "When the competition is tap water, that's problematic."
But Geoffrey Atkins, associate vice-president of land and building services at the University of British Columbia, rejected that claim and said such ideas have been floating around the UBC campus for the 11 years he's been employed there. He calls such accusations a "conspiracy theory" and chalks it up to aging infrastructure.
"As the building infrastructure deteriorates over time - and some of these buildings are 45 or 50 years old - some of the . . . models (of fountains) have finally gone unserviceable," said Atkins.
"When the water fountains become unserviceable, the decision is made: can they manufacture parts and repair it, or do they take it out?"
He said that while UBC makes the decision, the fountains are simply just "bagged over" which leads students to such extreme conclusions.
"That's the nature of university students, of course, we encourage individuality and inquisitiveness," said Atkins. "(But) it would be a highly unusual situation that anyone in a university would be influenced one way or the other by any kind of corporate involvement. We value our academic freedom and independence too much for that."
Silvie Fojtik, a student at the University of Guelph, said although it's easy to find tap water at her school, vending machines were very visible across campus and are heavily promoted.
She is more concerned with the sustainability aspect of bottled water and is part of a student organization that promotes water awareness. This week, her group rented a milk truck and filled it with municipal tap water for the incoming students participating in orientation week.
"(It's) to demonstrate to (new students) that it's possible for them in future years to reduce their amount of bottled water consumption," said Fojtik, in her third year of Guelph's water resources engineering program. "Walking to a vending machine is no different from taking your bottle and filling it at a tap," she said, rejecting the convenience argument often cited by bottled water drinkers.
Respondents also pointed to advertising in spaces like student lounges, washrooms and computer labs. Most (79 per cent) noted a large number of fast-food suppliers on campuses, and the same amount cited sponsorship was prominent during welcome weeks.
However, survey respondents were also aware of the alternatives - nearly half knew of a student-union run service.
Shaker said that while generally not all students were cognizant of their school's corporate ties, those who were well-informed and could name corporate personalities sitting on governing boards.
She is also wary that sponsorships could create unevenness in Canada's institutions as corporations vie for the academic dollar.
"What you are potentially seeing is a real hierarchy of which institutions attract private dollars for research and which institutions happen to be teaching institutions that don't have that luxury."