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From left, Linda Logan, vice president and dean for Student Life, Ciara Kent, Brian McKnight, and Chris Jones participated in supplying the residents of Flint with more than 3,200 bottles of water. The supply was left with representatives of Dozier Memorial CME Church./Courtesy photo
More residents of Flint will start the New Year off with clean, safe drinking water thanks to the Olivet College Black Student Union (BSU). Members of the BSU recently hosted a water drive for the city, which is currently facing a major water crisis due to lead contamination.
Many student organizations, Greek societies and employees pitched in to donate bottled water and filtering systems to the Flint community.
“The BSU students delivered more than 3,200 bottles of water to Dozier Memorial CME Church in Flint to help those dealing with contaminated water,” said Linda Logan, Ph.D., vice president and dean for student life. “The church plans to distribute the water to Genesee STEM Academy, which serves elementary school students in the area.”
In his state of the state address on Jan. 19, Gov. Rick Snyder said he would “do everything in his power” to fix the crisis.
According to a story from CNN, Snyder will be asking state lawmakers for $28 million in aid in the near future.
To the families in Flint, Snyder said during his hour or so long speech, “I am sorry and I will fix it.”
The problems started in March 2013, when Flint switched its water source from a Detroit supplier to the Flint River. It took about another year for the process to actually begin.
Then, months after the switch over, in April 2014, monitoring of the water began. According to a CNN timeline, it took almost another year for residents’ concerns to be acknowledged.
At the end of 2015, water supplies began pouring into the city, from in-state and beyond. Celebrities like Michael Moore and singer Cher have contributed to the effort as well.
For information and to learn how you can help, visit cityofflint.com.
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