Waiting in a toilet line, students bring attention to world water crisis

· March 22, 2010, 1:47 am

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Monday at noon, students may stumble upon an unusual toilet planted in front of College Hall — and, like many eye-catching displays on College Green, it’s for a good cause.

Penn’s chapter of A Spring of Hope, a national charity founded by College freshman Brittany Young, is hosting a “toilet queue” Monday in hopes of setting the record for the longest line for a single toilet.

The cause? “Bringing attention to the world water crisis,” Young said. Following a trip to South Africa with her mother in 2005, Young founded A Spring of Hope to build wells in areas in need of safe water. Since its founding, the organization has financed the construction of six wells.

The queue that will be made along Locust Walk aims to garner media attention, with the toilet concept as symbolic of the universal need for water. Young hopes for upwards of at least 50 people, although the current record is 868.

A Spring of Hope is a member of a coalition of charities headed by End Water Poverty, a national organization that has coordinated toilet queues in over 60 countries. There are currently three college chapters of A Spring of Hope and approximately 10 chapters nationwide, including high school chapters.

This is A Spring of Hope’s first event at Penn.

Members of the Penn community are invited to stand in line for just five minutes. More people, Young stressed, means more attention: “Any line is good!”

Free food will be served as additional bait for students to join the line. Young will also be selling T-shirts and water bottles bearing the name of her organization.

“It seems like a great, easy and interesting way to raise awareness about a vital problem,” said College freshman Elizabeth Schlessinger, who plans to stand in line Monday.

Donations are welcome from any passerby in exchange for a bracelet. For additional information, Young invites students to visit aspringofhope.org.

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