The 2016 Associated Students General Election has only one ballot advisory measure: Should AS halt its sale of single-use bottled water at Chico State as soon as contractually possible?

The measure was created and proposed by students in Geography 440, “Environmental Thought and Action.” The course is only offered in the spring. The goal of the course is to provide a ballot measure for the AS election. This year, students are hoping that the initiative will make the campus and community more aware of the environmental effects of bottled water.

“We started by brainstorming a bunch of things that we wanted to affect environmentally, and then it came down to a vote in our class, and we voted for it,” said Neil Cronin, senior recreation major. “[We hope to] change the outlook, behavior and the culture of the campus.”

In the 2016 AS sample ballot, AS responded to the measure by revealing that the sales of bottled water bring in $80,000 each year, and it meets the demands of students who choose to buy bottled water.

“If a suitable product replacement is not found to generate the same level of income, prices in AS Dining operations will increase,” according to the response for the measure.

If the measure gets a majority “yes” vote, Chico State would be the second CSU to ban the sale of bottled water, joining many other colleges and universities around the nation. Students can cast their votes during the 24-hour online voting period for the 2016 AS Election beginning at 8 a.m. April 12 until 8 a.m. April 13 by visiting the AS website.

Listen to Neil Cronin explain how bottled water negatively affects the environment and why students should vote “yes” on the measure to halt the sale of bottled water on campus:

Christine Zuniga can be reached at [email protected] or @kissssteen on Twitter.