Amelia Chen

My dorm fountain was full of it. Every floor, every wing, every dorm on campus. The university framed it as a public-health initiative — 'stay hydrated' posters everywhere — but they never told us what we were hydrating with.

I joined the Citizens Against DHMO chapter on campus during my sophomore year. We mapped every DHMO dispensing point on the property. There were 412. Four hundred and twelve sources, on a campus of 35,000 students. The math implies an exposure profile the university has never disclosed.

We petitioned for source labeling. We were told it was 'unworkable.' We petitioned for opt-out water programs. We were told it was 'logistically impossible.' We petitioned for a single town hall on the issue. We were told the administration's calendar was full.

I am graduating in two semesters. I am not done with this work. I am exactly the right age to spend the next forty years of my life on it.