Stanford strikes shower compromise

STANFORD, Calif., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- California's Stanford University has agreed to retrofit showers with high-power heads after low-flow heads installed over winter break sparked an outcry.

The eco-friendly shower heads installed during the break, which reduced water flow from 2.5 gallons to 1.3 gallons a minute, led to a letter-writing campaign, an e-mail petition, newspaper editorials and multiple meetings with university officials requested by students who complained the low-flow shower heads were failing to give them the quick-clean they were accustomed to, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported Thursday.

"It is like showering under a sink faucet," said Christian Tom, a junior who circulated a petition in his West Lagunita dorm that gathered 50 signatures in a single day. "Are we hunger striking? Of course not. But it's annoying."

Nik Kaestner of Stanford Housing said the school has agreed to outfit each bathroom with a hand-held shower head that increases water flow and can be raised to allow tall students to wash their hair with less difficulty.

"We're happy, and really appreciate that they listened to us," said Tom. "I took a shower and it was great."