Living in Michigan as a kid back in 2014, you would remember hearing your parents, teachers, and friends talk about how horrible the water in Flint was. Your parents expressed sympathy to the living there and their frustration with people who had the power to do something. Your teachers worriedly expressed that our water was fine, you could still drink it and be alright. You would hear from a friend one day how somebody they knew drank lead, got very sick, and ended up in the hospital because of a drinking fountain. As a kid, you did not quite understand how bad it all was; you just thought it was interesting how water could make somebody very sick. But as you grew into the age of a student, you realized that a child was poisoned, the politicians silently allowed it to happen, and the crisis was not just something that happened in your childhood but continues to be a major problem today. A person with such an experience may wonder how they could help, and may be surprised to see many students have done the same before them.

The Flint Water Crisis: Continuous policy failures on the part of Michigan's government resulted in lead poisoning of Flint's tap water supply, resulting in severe health issues and, in some cases, death. Flint struggled economically for decades following the closing of General Motors manufacturing plants, motivating Michigan Governors John Engler and, later, Rick Snyder to appoint unelected managers whose purpose was to cut costs and improve the economy. One such cost was moving the source of the city's water supply from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River; however, the water from that river was soon discovered to have dangerous corrosive properties, bacteria, and a level of lead that caused the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deem it hazardous waste. Despite concerns and warnings to citizens not to drink the city water, Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality, as well as then-Mayor Snyder, released conflicting messages on whether or not the water was safe, failing to take action to protect citizens. The EPA similarly failed to respond to the crisis in a timely manner. While action would be taken by the state and national governments months later, the failure of these policymakers to respond in a timely fashion led to great harm for Flint's vulnerable, poor, and largely African American communities.

Students in Water Quality Research: While policymakers failed in the Flint Water Crisis, students and professors succeeded by leading the charge in testing the lead levels of Flint's communities' drinking water. The Flint Water Studies website showcases examples of research done within and between major universities such as Wayne State University and the University of Michigan. In particular, the website highlights the work of the Virginia Tech Research Team, composed mainly of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students. The research team collects data on Flint's water quality and posts it to the Flint Water Studies website repository. The work of these students and researchers led the way for protecting Flint's citizens from drinking unsafe water during a time when policymakers failed to do so. Additionally, Virginia Tech's research acted as a foundation for understanding what policies needed to be put in place, pushing officials to provide necessary aid.

Active Student Involvement: Students are still actively involved in aiding Flint's communities with its lasting water quality issues today. Children raised during the Flint water crisis have taken to activism, such as high schooler Sima Gutierrez, who delivers homeowners' water to labs for testing and campaigns for public health. High school and college students have also gotten involved by volunteering at the Flint Community Water Lab, testing citizens' water for free. A University of Michigan graduate student, Jaron Rothkop, teamed with the JUST Water team–an organization concerned with filtration of water and sustainable packaging– to create The Water Box, a filtration system intended to remove lead and harmful bacteria. Even if, as a student, you may not be able to engage in intense research and lab studies, their stories prove that students can get involved in many ways. Whether it be volunteering at organizations, helping impacted communities via donating water or collecting water samples, or campaigning for their beliefs, students can have a massive impact.

Conclusion: The Flint Water Crisis was a monumental failure for Flint, Michigan, and America's policymakers, but an outstanding example of how students can get involved in times of crisis. Students researched residents' water quality, reporting dangerous levels of lead and bacteria. They campaigned for public health, brought about technology to deliver safe drinking water, and volunteered their time at labs and organizations. In the future, students may continue volunteering and campaigning, getting involved in organizations such as the Flint River Water Coalition, where people of all ages can volunteer in cleaning the communities' water or provide donations for continued lab testing. Beyond Flint, students can get involved in their own communities facing tough times by joining a cause they care about and doing what they can.