While walking through the halls at OSHS, students often stumble upon the many different water fountains and water bottle fillers across the school. They vary heavily from fountain to fountain, with the inconsistency being quite appalling. Some have both a drinking fountain and water bottle filler, some with just a water bottle filler, and some with just a drinking fountain. It’s obvious that many of these fountains have their differences, the age and quality of the fountain being the most striking.
The majority of the fountains in the school are relatively new, but there are a couple outsiders. There are a few very old drinking fountains left, one being upstairs in the social studies wing. When on a brief brainstorming walk, some Rambler members watched as Mr. Vautrain attempted to turn on this fountain, however, no water came out of the nozzle, only some water leaking through the side of the fountain. Rambler writer Marcus Lowy recalls, “It was pretty funny. Mr. Vautrain went to turn on the water fountain and instead of coming out from the nozzle, the water just leaked out of the side.” Despite some outdated fountains, the school is taking steps to update and install new fountains for OSHS. One example of this was the old water fountain at the entrance of the locker room (pictured on the left), which used to just be a drinking fountain, with no water bottle filler. However, this past summer, OSHS has replaced this with a newer drinking fountain and water bottle filler, now with a button instead of a twisting lever, making water dispensary much easier.
Many of these newer fountains also have a “water bottles saved” feature, on a small green screen, showing the number of water bottles saved over the time that the specific fountain has been supplying water. Some other noticeable variations from fountain to fountain are the actual water being dispensed. While many of these fountains do feel the same, students and staff have noticed that the water fountain in the weight room seems specifically colder than the rest (pictured on the right). Personal Fitness teacher Mr. Donohue, who spends a large portion of his time in the weight room, states, “I usually recommend the water fountain in the weight room, I find it to be the coldest. I enjoy using that water fountain whenever I can.”
In all, the fountains at OSHS vary in countless ways, so next time you go to take a drink, or fill up your water bottle, look to see what type of fountain it is. If available, maybe check how many water bottles have been saved. Most importantly, check to see if the water is cold and refreshing, because if not, there are several other fountains available. At least one of the fountains in the school should be able to fulfill your needs for a refreshing drink to have throughout the school day.
