Last semester, Chico State took a big oath when we decided to go strawless and ban all plastic straws from campus. In replacement, paper straws were given out upon request and steel metal straws were available for purchase.

While hundreds of students have already bought metal reusable straws, it seems that less students know about the paper straw alternative. When visiting the BMU marketplace or cafe, it’s common to find yourself asking for the paper straw rather than a worker offering it to you. And even when you ask for a paper straw they are often out of stock. It seems the only real option is converting to metal straws or stop using straws all together.

Now of course there isn’t any perfect solution, but we can always strive to do better. For instance, why are the alternative metal straws being sold in plastic bags? Yes, the metal straws bring us one tiny step closer to trying to save the environment, however, wouldn’t it be more helpful for the environment if these straw kits were sold in some sort of used, recyclable paper bags?

This may seem like a nitpick, but we have to question why we’re using metal straws in the first place. If the thousands of plastic straws we use to use on campus hurt the environment, the plastic cases around the reusable straw kits will pollute the environment too. Maybe the solution is that Chico State bans all plastic straws and lids from campus.

Don’t get me wrong, Chico State is doing a great job with their sales on these merchandises and the reusable straws do help make a positive impact on the environment. I’m not arguing that the strawless campagin is bad, but rather we must continue to do better. We can’t settle at just getting rid of plastic straws. Sure, we’ve already taken the first step by eliminating plastic straws, but now it’s time to keep the conversation going and take more steps to create a greener campus.

Karen Limones and Alex Grant can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.