Although the Choate Green Cup Challenge came to an end during winter term, many Choate students continue to save energy after the competition’s culmination. This year’s Hydro Cup Challenge, which started on Wednesday, March 27, will teach students how to conserve water both on and off campus and to keep up these habits after the competition ends. The annual challenge is organized by the C-Proctors and their faculty adviser, Ms. Katrina Homan, the School’s Director of Sustainability.
During the Hydro Cup Challenge, Choate’s dormitories compete against each other to see who can save the most water. When it comes to competitions on campus, many dorms go all out in order to win the prizes provided by the C-Proctors. For this challenge, prizes are given to all dorms who decrease their water usage. The prizes normally range from a pizza party to an ice-cream party, depending on how the the dorm places.
The Hydro Cup Challenge lasts for about four weeks. This may seem like a long time for a competition, but it’s a great way for Choate to get accustomed to continuously conserving water.
C-Proctor Gina Driscoll ’20 said, “The objective is to teach good water conserving habits. It is aimed to teach students that taking shorter showers, using the cold wash function for your laundry, and turning off the sink when you don’t use it will help save fresh water at Choate.”
Last year, the KEC, Chapel, Spencer, Quantrell, Nichols, and Pitman saved the most water among the school’s 22 dorms, cutting their water usage as a group by approximately 27%.
The C-Proctors hope that this year, the water usage will go down even more. “Hydro Cup needs more awareness around Choate because not a lot of people on campus are completely knowledgeable about how fortunate we are to have access to clean water,” said Brooke Wise ’20, another C-Proctor.
“I think Hydro Cup really brings attention to the day-to-day ways in which we can conserve as much water as possible,” said Alondra Peza ’21. “When everyone in the dorm participates, we all help keep each other in check.” Peza hopes that she can make an effort to help use less water alongside the C-Proctors living in her dorm.
Since 2000, Hydro Cup has been one of the biggest and most successful events hosted by the C-Proctors. Not only does it act as an educational event, but it also brings the Choate community together to think about issues beyond what students often refer to as the Choate bubble.
