When first given the opportunity to write a column expressing my opinion on some issue affecting campus, I debated what topic would be worthy of not only my writing about it, but your attention as well.
I concluded that there is a lot to be addressed, but considering the new semester and the new year, I thought a resolution was in order. Hence, I have decided to talk about our responsibility, as students, to this campus.
For lack of a more sophisticated way to say it, litter and graffiti are disgusting.
So, why is it, then, that they are still strewn and scrawled all over our campus?
It’s not the result of lack of availability of trash cans; they are all over the place. It is, rather, caused simply by laziness and disrespect.
I don’t understand what possesses people to eat a lunch outside and leave paper and trash everywhere to be picked up first by the wind, then distributed across campus, to be picked up finally by someone in campus maintenance (whom, I might add, has enough to do without our help).
Please know that I am not trying to be self-righteous, nor too forward, but rather would like to use this opportunity to ask you to please help maintain our facilities.
The effort is minimal and quite well-worth whatever exertion is necessary.
The writing on desks and tables is inexplicably immature and serves no purpose but to deface property that we do not own, and to hurt people.
I have been offended by many of the comments written on desks and better yet – bathroom walls. I know others have also and perhaps this is the goal of the person writing it, but it would still behoove us to keep in mind that we are in college, not middle school, and “who did what with whom” is far less important now. Most of us have far more pressing issues upon which to spend our time.
Please do not allow our campus to become a catchall for garbage and offensive defamation.
Also, I have one little note to the smokers. Let me say, I truly have nothing against those who smoke. However, it is funny to walk outside and see the clearly labeled containers for cigarette butts at the doors of every building, and the layer of cigarette butts that covers the surrounding grass.
Common courtesy and respect are things we should have been taught many years ago. Although I recognize that it is not always convenient, it is beneficial to us all to make the extra effort to put the garbage in the trash and to refrain from writing on desks and tables.
Please consider what I’ve written. The dawn of a new millennium is a great time to make a decision not to be so careless.

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