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news
Campus
pride promoted through ‘Go Beach’ water
By Ryan Ritchie
Summer Forty-Niner
One thing Cal State
Long Beach students can not complain about is the availability
of bottled water across campus.
Bottled water can
be purchased at a number of places, including the Outpost,
the University Bookstore, the Beach Hut and numerous vending
machines to name a few.
The administration’s
endeavors to increase school pride have been coined “Go Beach,”
and like many other catchy slogans, “Go Beach” is used as
a marketing tool to increase profits along with pride.
Many cars and pedestrians
pass by the “Go Beach” sign on West Campus Drive but think
nothing of its message because the idea of “Go Beach” has
nothing to do with their daily lives ? until they become thirsty.
Sales indicate
the CSULB community purchases water at a high rate. According
to Forty Niner Shops Inc. Purchasing Director Bill Beck, shops
receive approximately 3,500 to 5,000 bottles a week of “Go
Beach” water, the university’s pseudo homemade water.
Roman Gulon, general
manager of the Forty Niner Shops Inc., said the switch to
“Go Beach” water was made to tie in with President Maxson’s
goal of bringing more unity to the campus.
“The Forty Niner
Shops made the decision to sell the “Go Beach” water mainly
to support President Maxson’s campaign of ‘Go Beach,’ and
the use of generic campus branding is used on other campuses
as well,” Gulon said.
Bottled water is
sold on campus in a few sizes: 20 fluid ounces, .5 liter,
1 liter, 1.5 liter and 1 pint, 8 fluid ounces. The university
sells name brand bottles but offers only “Go Beach” water
at the .5 liter size with the exception of a few Arrowhead
.5 liter bottles at the Bookstore. This small variety makes
the “Go Beach” water the No.1 selling water on campus.
“The 1 liter bottles
sell almost as good as the “Go Beach” water in the bookstore
and about half as good everywhere else,” Beck said.
“Go Beach” water
has been sold on campus for roughly four years with relatively
no problems or complaints. One of the hardest parts of using
a generic brand of water is finding room to store the bottles,
Gulon said.
Like any consumer
switching from one brand to another, students took a while
adjusting to the new water when the change to the new bottle
was made.
“In the beginning,
some people didn’t like it,” Beck said. “Now, the majority
like it.”
Making students
happy is important, but perhaps even more important is the
response “Go Beach” water receives from President Maxson.
Officials around campus agree the water keeps the president
so happy he drinks it and frequently offers it to campus guests.
Armando Contreras,
executive assistant to President Maxson, said he believes
the president enjoys the product so much because the water
fulfills its job as a public relations tool by contributing
to campus pride and unity.
“It’s part of a
sense of community,” Contreras said. “It’s like pencils with
people’s names on them.”
If the labels on
“Go Beach” water told the truth, they would read “Go Mountain,”
because that is where the water originates. Palomar Mountain,
a protected 420,000-acre part of the Cleveland National Forest
near San Diego, is where the water comes from. The Palomar
name may sound familiar to some because it is the same one
the company uses to sell its own brand of water.
The label on “Go
Beach” water says its contents are “from deep springs, high
in Palomar Mountain,” but what this means is not explained
anywhere on the product. The bottle does not contain any information
regarding content or a relation with the Palomar Mountain
Spring Water company.
According to Gulon,
the labels are sufficient.
“All that is required
on bottled water is stating ‘mountain spring’ and where it
comes from,” Gulon said.
Palomar Mountain
Spring Water’s web site states their water is natural, which
is defined as, “exact to original composition with the absence
of any form of artificial or synthetic materials.”
Their web site
also defines the many types of bottled water. Spring water
is defined as, “bottled water derived from an underground
formation from which water flows naturally to the surface
of the earth. Spring water meets the requirements of natural
water.”
Palomar Mountain
Spring Water, which also supplies San Diego State, was chosen
because it was the closest company in proximity to CSULB that
could supply the campus with the necessary amount, Gulon said.
Exactly how many
schools, universities or private corporations Palomar Mountain
Spring Water sells to is unknown. They were contacted via
telephone and email for this story but never replied.
Located between
the Social Science/Public Affairs and the Vivian Engineering
buildings, the Outpost is where many students on Lower Campus
spend their free time eating and studying. The Outpost has
no nearby competition and if students want bottled water,
they have only the “Go Beach” water and a 1 liter bottle of
Crystal Geyser to choose from. The lack of water selection
at the Outpost may upset some, but cashiers Warren Cajucom
and Alex Deleon said the “Go Beach” water sells well.
“No, no complaints,”
the cashiers said in unison when asked if students voice any
concern over the small selection.
“I wouldn’t buy
it, but I don’t believe in paying for water,” Deleon said.
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