Meet Sarah Boorboor, Pitt’s latest campus celebrity. She deserves this title not only because of her genuine personality and positive attitude, but also because of her ambitious efforts to cut back on plastic water bottle use around campus through an organization called Take Back the Tap.
Year: Junior
Major: Political Science
HC: What organizations are you involved in at Pitt?
Sarah: Last year I was involved with Habitat For Humanity and Jumpstart but recently all my attention has gone to Take Back the Tap since it’s a new organization and it seems there’s always something that needs work.
HC: What is Take Back the Tap’s mission statement?
Sarah: Take Back the Tap is a campaign, which seeks to promote using tap water over buying bottled water on college campuses because of the harmful affects of water bottle companies. We want to inform students that even the simple act of choosing tap water over bottled water goes a long way towards ensuring that everyone has access to safe, clean affordable water.
HC: How did you get involved with Take Back the Tap?
Sarah: My sister interned with Food and Water Watch two years ago and suggested that I look into their campaign Take Back the Tap. From there I was put in touch with Katy Kiefer who works on the campaign from D.C., and I was made a campus coordinator for Pitt, and the rest was history!
HC: How can students get involved?
Sarah: We have weekly meetings where students can sign up for tabling and volunteer opportunities. We also try to partner with any existing student organizations who are interested, what the partnership involves is we make any event they would have water bottle free by providing water in jugs, from which people can dispense into their reusable water bottles or the paper cups we provide. Students can also get involved by simply signing our pledge sheet, which shows you support clean affordable water for all, and will do your best to reduce the amount of bottled water you use. If any students wish to get on our email list they can send a message to tbttpitt@gmail.com or they can find us on Facebook at Take Back the Tap at Pitt.
HC: Are you studying abroad next year?
Sarah: I’m studying abroad next semester doing Pitt Map, so I will be going to Brazil, India, and China. I AM SO EXCITED. But also a little sad to be leaving the campaign, luckily we have a wonderful Vice President–Melanie Ordway, who will be taking over next semester.
HC: What do you see yourself doing after you graduate?
Sarah: As of now I am planning on applying to a program called Green Corps, it’s essentially a one-year field school for environmental organizing. That’s the dream, but it’s super competitive so we’ll see what happens!