ALEX BUCKNAM
Managing Editor
Photo by MATT VOLZ| Editor in Chief
It’s that time of the semester again, when we experience yet another boil-water alert.
As someone who has been here since Fall 2023, I’ve experienced probably two a semester — sometimes even three.
With roughly 10 occurrences since 2023, this is not normal.
In the past, there have been clashes at City Hall between Mayor Mike Ferguson and students over the boil-water alerts.
My predecessor, Dan Quagliana, even wrote an opinion article about them, noting that if he had known this would be a recurring issue, he might have chosen a different college.
The mayor’s response shocked me: “You don’t go to a college for the water, which we know you need. You go to college for an education. I’m pretty sure you got a good one while you were here.”
It’s still surprising that the mayor of a college town could so easily overlook student concerns.
Now, I could write a dozen articles about boil-water alerts, but nothing new would emerge, given how common they are.
Simply, the reservoir is 140 years old and is causing problems with the treatment.
This latest alert, however, came at an especially unfortunate time at SUNY Fredonia, coinciding with Go Big Blue Day.
Fredonia’s water issues are known across the state — and possibly nationally — for the frequency of boil-water alerts.
Accepted students got a firsthand look at how serious the problem is.
Families couldn’t fully dine at Cranston or get coffee at Starbucks without facing limited options.
They also saw signs posted on drinking fountains warning, “Do not use — boil-water alert.”
Dining at Cranston with my family is a key memory of why I picked this school, and recently accepted students couldn’t do that.
Thankfully, during the catered event at the gymnasium, they were still able to serve regular drinks; they just had to boil the water and let it cool.
But that doesn’t mean the issue was fully hidden.
It would be no surprise if parents Googled the situation and saw numerous articles from The Leader and the Dunkirk Observer documenting the many alerts in the past.
Going back to the mayor’s comment to my predecessor and former editors: You do go to college for the water, because safe water is a fundamental human right.
This school and its students should be angry with the village board for its lack of action in fixing these ongoing issues.
While progress is happening, it is slow because of the high cost.
Ferguson said the reason for this boil-water alert was the heavy rain Fredonia experienced.
This is what prospective students will see when they Google “Fredonia” during Go Big Blue Day — that heavy rain can cause a minor emergency.
The village board and town residents should be aware of how impactful this actually is.
Fredonia acts as a major economic engine and is one of the key reasons businesses stay open, while also providing many employment opportunities.
Without the college, students wouldn’t be shopping at local businesses.
Professors who live in the area would move away to find work elsewhere.
Not only would the village decline, but Dunkirk would also take a significant hit.
At the end of the day, when students pick which school to pay that deposit to, Fredonia could be out of the question because of this.
This does not help our already low student population, which also ties into our massive multimillion-dollar deficit.
President Kolison’s plan to fix this deficit is to get more students.
I will admit that some plans he has should bring in new people, and we see them already working.
But those plans will not override a few students’ decisions not to pick this school because of the water.
While boil-water alerts won’t be the only reason prospective students choose not to attend Fredonia, they will certainly be one of them.
Fredonia is facing multiple challenges: boil-water alerts, an ongoing massive deficit that many believe is not being handled properly and a continuing lawsuit involving a professor who was banned from campus.
It’s hard to sweep all of this under the rug when a simple Google search of “Fredonia” exposes it all.
This town and college have a lot to think about.
They must put students’ opinions and concerns first, because without that, this campus and town will fail due to low student enrollment.
Potential incoming students might choose other colleges based on what they saw at Go Big Blue Day.
They may have liked the campus and even ranked it highly, but who wants to boil water multiple times for several days every semester?