The water fountains at GRHS have always been an unfortunate sight. Previously, out of all fifteen fountains, the only ones I could recommend were the Room 216 water fountain, the Cafeteria water fountain, the Room 115 water fountain, the band room water fountains, and the middle fountain of the three on the third floor. Most fountains simply did not work, and the ones that did typically had other glaring issues holding them back. Take, for instance, the worst fountain in the school: the rightmost fountain of the group on the third floor. It has functioning water, but its problem lies in the fact that the water is dirty. Another good bad example of the terrible quality of fountains in our school was the gymnasium water fountain, which previously only had a functional overhead nozzle, with the drinking nozzle not working at all. However, after many years of the poor quality of water fountains, the school has begun to enact a policy to change them for the better.

One of the biggest examples of missed potential in the school’s water fountains is the one next to the gymnasium. As was mentioned, only the overhead nozzle used to refill water bottles worked, and as such, it was designated as one of the worst fountains in the school. However, surprisingly, it appears the school made an effort to fix it, and it now has good, cold water. This elevates it from one of the worst to possibly the second best, but more than that, it bodes well for the future of our school’s water fountains. If the school is making the expenses to fix this water fountain, it is safe to say that soon, many should follow. 

One such fountain is the one located in room 231. Previously completely broken, the overhead nozzle has recently been repaired, allowing it to become significantly better. The fact that it is now somewhat functional is only made better when considering its placement. It is located in an area with many people constantly traveling through, and as if that wasn’t enough, it is the closest water fountain to the media center. If the school were to fix the drinking nozzle, the fountain would go from bad to a potential contender to overtake the room 216 fountain, the current best-ranked one in the school. Only time will tell if that will happen, but the improvement of the school’s water fountains brings up another issue to be discussed.

As the school improves its lackluster water fountains, a new question arises. That being which water fountains are worth fixing. Our school has an odd layout of water fountains, with some being clustered in groups of two or three, and some floors only having one group of three. The Room 110 water fountains are not good contenders for full repair. This is because they are far too close to the cafeteria, on top of being a group of two in a relatively linear hallway where they would not add extra convenience for the students. If the school were to make an effort to fix them, however, they should only bother with the leftmost one. For all the groups of two or three that are completely broken, it would be advisable for the school to only repair the one on the left. This would allow students to sip from the left side of the fountain, a great convenience with the cluster of people that would otherwise push them while they were drinking. 

The leftmost water fountain of the group on the third floor is another that the school simply should not bother fixing. It appears as though the school made an attempt to fix it, but not only was it an unnecessary effort, but it also made the problem worse, with the fountain appearing to now be clogged. The easiest solution for dealing with this fountain is to just remove it, along with its neighbor to the far right. Both of these fountains have massive problems that can not be easily resolved, and they are on either side of the fourth-best water fountain in the school. This applies to most of the completely broken fountains in groups. 

One such example of these groups is the one between the two faculty restrooms on the second floor.  The leftmost fountain does not work at all, and the middle one has an arc of water that is too low for a convenient drinking experience, coupled with water that is not nearly cold enough. They are next to a mediocre fountain with room-temperature water. The easiest solution for the school would be to get rid of the leftmost one, but keep the middle one, as it would be senseless to get rid of one of the few functional fountains in the school.

The news that the school has begun to fix some of the broken water fountains has great implications for the quality of student life moving forward. As long as it is within their budget, I see a future in which the school can create a great collection of water fountains for the students to use. Perhaps it may not be while any of the current students are attending GRHS, but it will happen eventually, and when that day comes, we will be able to look back on today and think about how the school has improved. Ultimately, despite its faults, the American school system has always been improving to try and create the best learning environment for today’s students, and the future of this country. While it may not be the most important step in that progression, the repairing of the water fountains is certainly emblematic of what stands to happen in the future for the students.