“Feud of the Fountains,”an article written by Tim Evans in 2016, reviewed the quality of the various fountains around Cathedral Prep. This year, however, some of the fountains have changed. For example, the third floor fountain by the theology department is out of service, and the second floor fountain by the math wing had its water pressure adjusted. With such changes made, an update on the quality of the fountains is necessary.
The fourth floor only has one water fountain. Therefore, it’s the best fountain on the fourth floor. However, the convenience of the fountain is about the only positive thing that it has going for it besides the half-decent water pressure. The fountain starts out very warm, but slowly transitions to a more reasonable temperature. There is a significant amount of splash up, resulting in water droplets on the pants. And if the splash up isn’t bad enough, the fountain also tricks you by frequently changing water pressure and heights, causing water to splash in your face. Finally, the fountain has a very slight metallic aftertaste, leaving both an unpleasant start, and an unpleasant end.
Thirsty during theology class? Hope you’re ready for a walk. The third floor theology water fountain has now been out of commission for the entire year. There are wires and various fountain parts exposed. However, many people remember this water fountain for its quality water pressure and cool waters.
The third floor fountain by the art rooms is a fair quality fountain with only a few drawbacks. The water isn’t too cold or warm, the pressure isn’t too high or low, and the taste isn’t particularly bad or good. The only things that aren’t average about this fountain are its height and cleanliness. Maybe the fact that this fountain is located by the freshman lockers explains such a short height and dirtiness. All things aside though, this fountain only has one major shortcoming: its height.
The second floor fountain by the math department is an interesting fountain: that is if you ever get a turn. There always seems to be a line in front of this fountain due to the fact that everyone has math. It is surprising how many people wait in front of this fountain considering the fact that it’s very short and the water is room temperature. However, the worst part about this fountain is the fact that it tastes slightly like sea water. Once you make this realization, you can’t taste anything else every time you drink it.
The second floor water fountain near the history teachers is a fair quality fountain. The fountain is a good height and has an aesthetic metallic outlet. However, there is a little bit of calcium buildup. The side buttons are much easier to press than the front buttons, which is a little odd but not a big deal. The water is nice and cool, and the water pressure is a little low but not bad. The only really big downside about this fountain is its location next to the bathroom. In fact, you can genuinely smell the bathroom from the water fountain, which is less than ideal.
The fountain outside of Father Jabo’s room is the best by far. This fountain is “blessed” with perfectly cold waters, great height, good water pressure, ideal cleanliness, and a delightful taste. Father Jabo must’ve picked this fountain to be by his office on purpose, because it genuinely is the ideal fountain. This fountain is also great because not many people go to it. Due to the fact that there are no classes near that area, there aren’t many students passing by. This explains the cleanliness, but the other qualities are just by coincidence I guess. Fantastic fountain. 9.5/10.
Everyone has seen the high tech fountain outside of Mrs. Lopez’s room and the finance office. It has a fancy water bottle fill-up station, but we weren’t impressed. First off, the water pressure in the regular fountain outlet is truly awful, especially if the fill-up station is running at the same time. You feel like you are kissing the water outlet the entire time you are drinking it. To make matters worse, the water temperature is also subpar. It’s not room temperature, but it’s also not cold. It’s just uncomfortable. Physics teacher, Mr. Biebel is not impressed by the fountain. In fact, in an interview he said, “The one by Lopez is too high tech. I like simple. I like the fountain of disappointment on the second floor.”
The first floor science wing water fountain is a great fountain. That is if you like when your pants get wet. The splash that comes off of this fountain is a huge drawback to this water fountain. There are a couple good things about this fountain though, such as the very cool and refreshing temperature of the fountain. Another thing that makes students at Cathedral Prep very happy is the water fountain is quite clean compared to others. There is very little calcium buildup, which definitely cannot be said about some of the other water fountains in the building. Although this isn’t too much of a negative, it’s very odd that there are no side buttons on this fountain. And lastly we discovered that unless you want water all over your face, you must press the button, then put your face to the fountain. All in all, this is a quality fountain with only a few complaints.
Onto the second floor science wing water fountain, which is almost a forgotten water fountain. This fountain is secluded and lonely for the most part. So if you are looking for a time to get away while quenching your thirst, this is the fountain to be at. This fountain is fairly clean with a decent temperature. The water pressure is great but not as great as its height. The height is not too low nor too high. There is only some splash up, which is good because a solid amount of the other ones have plenty splash up. This fountain is not too sturdy though. It is very wobbly, and if you press the right button the water will keep flowing even if you take your hand off the button. The fountain itself is pretty loud and annoying. This isn’t a social fountain, and there usually isn’t a line. This is not a top fountain, but it isn’t one of the worst either.
Much like the weight room itself, the water fountain down in the wrestling room is completely out of commission. The room is usually locked; therefore, it isn’t open to the general public. From what we recall it was similar to the fourth floor in that it started off very warm then transitioned to very cold. It’s very dirty and sweaty. If his fountain were open to the public, we still would not suggest that you use it.
This next fountain is probably one of the worst fountains that I have ever seen. The water fountain in the Prep Gym, is by far the worst water fountain in the school. First off, it even looks gross. The fountain is exposed and you can see all of the parts and rust. Then, you have to lean into the wall, which is quite weird. The button is way too hard to push and when you do push it, the warmest water is what hits you. Maybe they made it hard to push because they wanted to save you from that gross warm water. The drain barely works as you can see the water pools built up after use of it. All in all, this fountain is not a good one, and wouldn’t you think you would want a good fountain to cool you down after a steamy game of handball with Coach G?
Don’t want to pay for an overpriced drink in the Prep cafeteria? There is a decent water fountain right when you walk into the cafeteria. This water fountain is a little confusing. The temperature isn’t too warm or too cold. The height is very good and easy to get at. Speaking of easy to get at, you can get at this fountain from any angle that you would like! This is a decent water fountain, and you shouldn’t be afraid to use it.
The water fountain in the gym locker room is definitely one of the top. This water fountain is very cold and refreshing for after gym class. This has a very unique handle and is pleasantly different than the rest of the fountains. The only negative is the fact that it does have a slight metallic aftertaste. But who cares when you just got done with a very sweaty game of Ultimate Frisbee with Coach G? This has a great height as well. Now this is what I want after a steamy gym class.
All in all, there are only a few good fountains around this school. Senior David Tullio agreed, saying, “There are two very good water fountains in this school. An exceptional water fountain with superb water pressure and Antarctica temperatures is the one on the fourth floor. Another great fountain is the second floor science wing. All around great machine. I appreciate how well they work and how spread out they are. It’s comforting.” The one outside Jabo’s room also has to be mentioned, as it is our personal favorite.