Many Dartmouth students likely read the article about water intoxication and thought that Community Director Kristen Deal went too far with her actions against water pong players ("Water pong banned, risks of overhydrating cited," Feb. 5).
However, there are some of us who believe she has not gone far enough. The dangers of water intoxication are myriad and extremely serious, and it is necessary for students to take legitimate precautions around water.
Few realize the sobering facts about water abuse, which is a growing epidemic in our region among college students.
Allie Miller '10 was quoted saying that student spills are not much of a problem, and that wet boots are more of an issue. Such flippancy regarding such a serious topic is nearly incomprehensible. Clearly Miller should spend some more time researching instead of trying to make excuses. There have only been 15 wet boot related injuries this year. This number pales in comparison to the thousands of problems expected from water spilling on rugs. Several janitors have already been apprehended after being found caught using the substance to clean rugs in residence halls. They have since been arraigned and await trial in Hanover Town Court.
Water not only presents a danger to rug dryness, but is also life-threatening. Studies have found that a full-grown human will die in a matter of days on a wet carpet (usually due to starvation, but being moist makes it extremely unpleasant). Water pong-related spills create an even greater liability. If just one more person dies in a wet-carpet drowning, carpet water-related deaths will have increased by an infinite percentage this year alone.
Even if students are not drinking the water during pong, a recent study has shown that even exposure to water in a social environment will encourage students to try it for the first time. After that, it becomes a serious threat to health. The study found that after trying it, 75 percent of water drinkers will move on to more serious substances like apple juice, Gatorade and "harder beverages" like Juicy Juice and Capri Sun. As of now, none of these beverages are controlled by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
The human body is already 75 percent water; the average Dartmouth student only needs to drink one quarter of their body weight (around three gallons) to make their body 100 percent water. Diluting themselves as such would make them completely aqueous, leaving them to die a tragic liquid death due to a lack of physical structure.
How long will Dartmouth allow students to be exposed to such a dangerous drug right here in our own dorms? Serious preventative measures must be taken. SAW (Students Against Water) has submitted a proposal to Student Assembly that will help students avoid these dangerous situations. Included in the resolution are plans to drain Occom Pond and monitor all water fountains with cameras and timed mechanisms to prevent overconsumption. Construction has begun on a steel barrier preventing access to the Connecticut. In addition, SAW demands that walking in the rain now be prohibited on campus, as any student could open his or her mouth to the sky and die without even knowing they have had too much. As of this year, hundreds of farm turkeys have died in this manner.
Join SAW at the Rally Against Moistness (RAM), to be held in front of Dartmouth Hall this coming Friday. Several administrators are expected to speak.
Yes, all this is a definite step toward a better future. But unfortunately, we still live in a time when water is accessible to almost any student with a desire to obtain it. Together, students of Dartmouth, we can make a difference.
