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Students need to stand up and take the first step in water conservation said filmmaker Jim Thebaut during a Running Dry Trilogy screening and panel discussion on Tuesday in the Wi-Fi lounge.

The Associated Students Sustainability Committee collaborated with The Chronicles Group to screen the Running Dry Trilogy produced and directed by Thebaut.

The trilogy consists of Running Dry “Call to Action, The American Southwest, Are We Running Dry? and Running Dry: Beyond the Brink. It is a project intended to raise awareness on the international issues being faced if communities run out of a valuable resource: water.

“Politicians are not going to react unless there is a demand for it,” said Thebaut about the best way to get the word out for water conservation. “Students need to organize on campus and could make a huge difference. Students have more power than they realize.”

“Students have rights, and what a better way to demonstrate those rights than in your college. If students organize in a proper way, people will pay attention. PCC has a great reputation already.”

Vice President of the Sustainability Committee Hanna Israel spoke of the goals of the screening and panel discussion.

“[We’re] screening running dry in hopes of opening a community dialogue about the urgency behind finding efficient, cost-effective strategies for water conservation in California,” said Israel.

Following the screening was the panel discussion where Thebaut, Board of Trustees member Anthony Fellow, and Tim Brick of the Arroyo Seco Foundation answered questions from the audience.

“The important part is conservation of water. When there is a drought everyone does good, but we need to keep these habits that we learn during the drought,” said Brick about how one could make a difference.

Psychology major Daniel Lomeli questioned the appearance of politicians in the documentaries.

“I’m always skeptical about things. I had a science teacher that told me politics and science don’t mix. Now I’m skeptical whenever politicians are involved, but I’m glad I came because it informed me more,” said Lomeli.

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