On April 22, dozens of students went to the upstairs of the Union Pointe, formerly known simply as the Union Expansion, to see several environmentally themed exhibits being shown in celebration of Earth Day.

One such display was a blind taste test of various types of water, sponsored by the Action Group for Water Advocacy. Leah Rowland, a junior anthropology major, said the goal of the test was to have the participants realize how similar tap and bottled water are.

“We are trying to get people to understand that the $8 a gallon that is spent on Fiji [bottled water], when compared to the one cent a gallon spent on tap water — people can’t even taste the difference, “ Rowland said.

Rowland said switching away from the consumption of bottled water can save both money and the environment.

“If they understood how much more they were spending on Fiji water and how there is no real difference between them, would they really do that?” Rowland said. “Plus, with the amount of bottled water [being thrown away] at 300 million bottles that just builds up every year, I don’t think people understand the implications of what they’re doing.”

Tamara Ramirez, an environmental humanities professor, said choosing bottled water over that which comes out of the faucet is a terrible choice.

“Sometimes they do taste the difference, and they don’t like the expensive water as much as less than one penny a gallon water from the tap,” Ramirez said. “It’s ecologically expensive and its financially expensive to buy bottled water. It’s one of the dumbest things you could do to the planet Earth.”

Rowland said Earth Day is a day where people should come together to renew their commitment to protecting the earth.

“Earth Day has always meant something important to me,” Rowland said. “Where I grew it, it was a huge deal where the entire community got together. It’s really about bringing awareness to people, that this is our planet, that this is your planet. We need to take better care of it, and we need to fully realize the implications of our actions.”

Ariel Chanko, a freshman art major who took the taste challenge, said all the exhibits were professionally done and seemed to be the work of dedicated students and faculty.

“I think it’s cool,” Chanko said. “A lot of people obviously put time and effort into it. They’re really into it, which makes me want to be more into it. It’s encouraging.”

Michael Williams, a freshman forestry major who was also a participant in the test, said the results certainly were not what he had expected.

“I thought for sure that I was going to be able to tell the difference,” Williams said. “I didn’t get a single one right.”

Ramirez said the objective of the exhibit was to change the minds of students on the use of plastic water bottles.

“We’re trying to encourage people to, wherever they can, use a reusable water bottle,” Ramirez said.

Chanko said the water taste test was a humbling experience, but was also an educational one.

“I buy Fiji water, so I kind of feel a bit stupid right now,” Chanko said. “I always think that the bottle makes me look cooler, so I’ve definitely learned something. I’m really glad that they did this.”