Spilling the Tea on our Student-Designed Reusable Cups
(We had to for the title, sorry.)
Coffee lovers may have noticed new reusable coffee cups popping up all over campus. These cups are more than just a hot beverage holder— created through a collaboration between Parkhurst Dining, the Chatham Student Government 2026 Class Board, and student artist Emily Jacobs, they represent Chatham’s core values of sustainability and community engagement. Read on to get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the hottest new cup on campus.
When the Chatham Student Government 2026 Class Board was brainstorming this year’s class project, they decided to blend the interests of the Class of 2026 with one of Chatham’s core values: sustainability. Though Chatham is often lauded for our sustainable campuses, there’s always room for improvement, and the board sought to increase campus sustainability by reducing the waste associated with single-use cups. At no cost to students, the class board created and distributed almost 200 reusable cups across campus.
“This project is such an important reflection of the core values of Chatham. By using a reusable cup, students can take pride in knowing that they are promoting sustainability every single day, whether that be by reducing their consumption of single-use plastics or encouraging others to follow in their footsteps.”
The new reusable cup. Photo credit: Christopher Szarka
Parkhurst Dining General Manager Nick Corbett was happy to get onboard as well. Reusable cups had been a proposed project before, but due to COVID-19 concerns, were necessarily shelved during the height of the pandemic. Now that norms around reusable items are aligning more closely with pre-pandemic levels, Parkhurst saw the cups initiative as a way to increase partnerships with student organizations of all kinds. “We were thrilled with this partnership as it advanced and encouraged more sustainable practices on campus while creating unique and engaging events. Parkhurst Dining is committed to the successful launch of this initiative and ongoing support to encourage the use of reusable cups at Cafe Rachel,” said Corbett.
With Parkhurst in favor, the Chatham Student Government 2026 Class Board began taking design submissions for the cup. To select a winner, they created a poll and allowed the student body to vote on which design they would like to see— and the winner was Immersive Media major Emily Jacobs.
“When I first saw the contest, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” said Jacobs. “All I knew was that I wanted to submit something, because I’m an artist and I jump on every opportunity to improve my work (although sometimes I fail miserably).”
Jacob’s inspiration, which features swirling koi fish, came to her on a sunny day visiting the Anne Putnam Mallinson Pond near Mellon Center, a favorite spot on Shadyside Campus. “I just sat there and watched the fish swim around for at least an hour. The big ones swam up to me as though I was going to give them food, which I thought was funny. They were so cute and fat. They served as reference images for the cup design… Although I have been faced with some criticism as to that the design isn’t ‘Chatham’ themed, I thought it was just a cute design that used my favorite little koi fish as the stars.”
Policy Studies major Morgan Rapsky
Though the inspiration for the cup’s design may not evoke Chatham in broad strokes, it does speak to the unique details, personal connection, and enduring charm of the Chatham campus experience— and the cup itself has definitely resonated with campus denizens.
“The most surprising part of the process has honestly been the popularity the project received,” said Morgan Rapsky. “One of the hardest parts of being in student government is connecting with the student body and letting them know that we are here to help. So, when we distributed cups at our first Dean’s Hour, the fact that there was a line of students waiting to participate in our class project was the best surprise we could have asked for.”
Rapsky hopes the cup project and the engagement it generated will continue to further connection with the student body and its government. She also wanted to include this shoutout: “I would like to recognize the individual contributions of our class board. This project never would have been possible without Vice President Gabrielle Slovikosky, Treasurer Martha Deng, Secretary Jada Jenkins, Representative Madison Stokes, and Representative Jonah Schiffgens-Smith. I am so incredibly lucky to work with such a talented team and could not be prouder of the work they put in to make this project a reality!”
Design contest winner Emily Jacobs
As for Emily Jacobs, the experience of seeing her designs in the wild is pleasantly surreal. “It’s really strange to see the cups everywhere, and I’m desperately trying to resist the urge to tell everyone that has the cup, “Wow, that is such a nice cup, I wonder who did that cool design.” It is a little startling to see that, because that’s literally something I drew and people are using it. I feel pretty accomplished whenever I see the cups and am glad that people got them.”
A self-professed animal lover and reusable cup enthusiast, Jacobs emphasized how small changes in lifestyle can make a big impact on the environment: “It’s a really good feeling that my design became a part of something much bigger and that it is helping in a small way.”
If you’d like to learn more about Chatham Student Government, head to their website.
Sarah C. Hamm is the Associate Director of Brand and Content Strategy at Chatham University, guiding Chatham’s social media and digital editorial strategy for Pulse@ChathamU. A graduate of Chatham’s MFA Creative Writing Program, she spends her free time podcasting, hiking, or enjoying Pittsburgh’s food scene.
