Class discusses fountain issues

After discussing your article about the 10-foot fountain prophylactic device, my English 102 class and I came up with several responses and other quirky ideas to throw into the fun-filled fountain debate. Here are a few:

First, the water still has to come down, right? Even if we are teased with it. You can't touch the water spout the surface will still be slippery and people will still fall and break things. After seeing a prototype of the device, one student suggested that it has a tier on it almost like a seat. So that makes it easier to climb, right? And what happens when someone really intelligent decides to plug the cylinder? No more burning dumpsters during the Big Ten Finals, let's stuff a basketball into the cylinder instead.

We have considered some alternatives, just for the sake of argument. Why not widen the debate, right? One is to put the campus police to work doing something other than giving out unnecessary parking tickets. The new "boot" device seems to be the thing of the future, putting many campus cops out of work. Let's have them patrol the fountains for foul play. Or how about a small first-aid tent in case of accidents? I'm sure those helpful people at PUSH would be willing to volunteer some time for the cause. My favorite suggestion was a "pay-for-play" idea. Why not rig up a coin machine so that if you really want to run through the fountain, you have to plop in a quarter to turn the thing on for three minutes or so. The revenue could be used to pay attorney fees in case of a liability suit, or for some other worthwhile cause around campus, like additional parking facilities. Everyone would be a winner.

Joe Barbato
Graduate Student

Young ball players should value ‘college, not cash’

Class discusses fountain issues

Fountain: Tear it down or turn it on

Fountain works in larger cities

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