by The Cowl Editor on November 2, 2017

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Opinion

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Save Water -Turn Off  Sprinklers

Throughout the past couple of months, Providence has experienced a few rainy days here and there. Although these stormy days often bring a sense of gloom and despair to campus, they allow for the various foliage around Providence College to be thoroughly watered, free of charge. From the trees outside of Suites Hall to the weeds growing around Calabria Plaza’s construction site, campus always seems rejuvenated after a nice rainstorm.

Yet, PC does not believe that a couple hours of steady rain provides enough water for the grass on Aquinas Quad.

In order to make sure that every inch of the AQ Quad gets thoroughly soaked by water, all sprinklers turn on regardless of the weather. It does not matter whether there have been light showers throughout the night or if it is been down pouring since the early morning; the AQ sprinklers always go off.

This is a big problem, especially if PC is making small steps towards becoming an environmentally conscious school.

In general, watering grass uses an extraordinary amount of water. In order to properly water a 10-foot by 10-foot section of lawn, you would need just over 62 gallons of water. To put this idea into perspective, it would take around 103 gallons of water to properly water a notoriously small McVinney dorm room. Just imagine how many McVinney rooms fit on the AQ Quad—a whole lot.

Although it is nice to see how much PC cares about its beautiful lawns, the AQ Quad does not need to be manually watered by sprinklers as it is being watered naturally by the rain. It is not only a huge waste of water, but it also just looks a little absurd.

-Katherine Torok ’20

 

Trump Needs a New Approach

On Thursday, President Trump declared the current opioid crisis in the United States a public health emergency, but many take issue with his approach.

One of the most significant criticisms of Trump’s decision  is that there will not be nearly enough funding made available to assist with research and medical care. Without this crucial funding, it is unclear what impact this decision will have on those suffering from opioid addiction.

It is troubling that it has taken the Trump administration this long to address the severity of the opioid crisis and to declare it an emergency. It is unclear how much this decision will really help those who are in desperate in need. At this point, extra funding from the government is the only way to make significant progress in helping those struggling with addiction. It is scary that getting this funding will now take more time or may not happen at all.

Much more needs to be done if Trump is going to end the opioid crisis during his presidency. Thousands of Americans die every year from opioid overdose and without the proper funding for treatment and prevention, the death toll will only increase.

Communities will continue to be affected without the proper financial and medical attention that, at this point, can only be implemented by Trump. The Trump administration needs to realize that while declaring a public health emergency is a good start, it will not be nearly enough in the long run.

-Bridget Blain ’19

 

 

PHOTO COURTESY of Nashvile NACE

Be Mindful of Food Waste

Last week, Raymond Dining Hall took on a “Clean Plate Challenge” for a day during lunch. Students were encouraged to only take food they would eat, and to finish all of their food, thus becoming a member of the “Clean Plate Club” and helping to limit Ray’s food waste for that meal. In front of the dish return area were buckets full of food that students had taken but never ate. The piles of food proved that Providence College has a problem when it comes to food waste.

The Clean Plate Initiative is a great way to combat this problem. With the help of the Sodexo Staff, PC is able to donate all of the food that is left over, but nothing can be done with the food that students take, but never eat. Ultimately, this leads to a lot of food waste, which is neither environmentally nor economically friendly. There is not a way to limit the food that students take for themselves or to institute different portion control options, but the Clean Plate Initiative can serve as a great reminder for students. Even though the actual program was only set up for a day, perhaps posters or reminders set up in Ray could help encourage students to limit waste on a daily basis.

We all have moments where our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, but if PC can embrace the Clean Plate Initiative and students can remember that the food they do not eat will go to waste, we can make our campus a more economical and environmentally friendly place.

-Andrea Traietti ’21

 

by The Cowl Editor on October 19, 2017

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Campus

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by Katherine Torok ’20

Opinion Staff

It has been about 47 years since Providence College accepted and enrolled its first female students. What began as an all-male private Roman Catholic school in 1917 has transformed into a co-ed college with around 57 percent of the student body comprised of females.

Now jump to 2017, and women’s enrollment not only matches men’s enrollment, but exceeds it. Overall, women have achieved a lot at the College, and they are not stopping anytime soon.

The 2017-2018 school year marks a big year for women empowerment at PC thanks to a program revamped by Residence Life called Women of Meagher. This is the College’s first official women’s initiative club, but is nothing like the pre-existing program for male students known as Gentlemen of St. Joseph Hall.

This community, along with the Gentlemen of St. Joseph Hall community, share similar values of respect, courage, compassion, integrity, and faith, and connect men and women with faculty, staff, and administration on campus.

Although the two programs are open to both freshman and sophomore students who live in either Meagher or St. Joseph, their goals are different.

Both programs provide amazing opportunities and resources for each gender, but Women of Meagher is the program that PC really needed. Before Women of Meagher, the two main clubs on campus that dealt specifically with women’s empowerment were Women Will and PC Women in Business.

Now that a third club has been added into the mix, it seems as if PC is taking great strides towards women’s equality. However, this might not be the case across the board.

Since September, women’s bathroom stalls across campus have been filled with posters advertising The Vagina Monologues, a play comprised of personal monologues from women that deal with powerful ideas such as love, body image, and domestic abuse.

Although the compelling play is about women and bringing awareness to domestic violence, the College does not allow the play to be performed on campus. It seems a little hypocritical to allow feminist clubs to exist on campus, but deny a feminist play the space to be performed.

Nevertheless, it is still important to keep in mind how significant Women of Meagher is for the College. The program is rooted in the belief that women should band together and empower each other.

If one were to Google, “How many CEOs are female in 2017?” he or she would get 32 as their answer. Percentage wise, that is only 6.4 percent of all CEOs. Although this is a vast increase from 2016’s answer of 4.2 percent, or 21 female CEOs, the numbers are still small.

Women of Meagher is not just a group of freshman and sophomore Meagher residents that sit around and chant “Girl Power!” while listening to Beyoncé. Instead, the program is designed so that two sophomore mentors are paired up with a freshman mentee.

This mentor-mentee relationship really allows for all three girls to form new relationships embedded in the idea of empowering and supporting each other.

Whether it is giving advice, helping each other study, or simply encouraging each other to step out of our comfort zones, any sort of interaction makes a difference.

Statistics show that women only apply for jobs that they feel 100 percent qualified for, while men apply for jobs that they are only 60 percent qualified for. Because of this, women oftentimes miss out on amazing opportunities and jobs that they truly are qualified for.

But this all could change.

Women of Meagher is not designed to have women take away all jobs from men. Instead, it is designed to stop women from saying “No, I can’t” and have them say, “Yes, I can.” Though some people may not agree with how crucial and significant the program is for women on campus, it truly is an important and influential addition.

Revolutions and major change do not happen overnight, therefore any little step towards equality and equal representation is a step in the right direction towards equality.