Students, it is time to take out the trash.
After being at APSU for almost four years now, I have a lot of faith and pride in the campus around me.
It has so many opportunities, resources and centers to be proud of.
People seem to show little care about the people who help maintain its healthy atmosphere.
I have gone into the bathrooms on campus and have found myself appalled that women’s bathrooms and recently the men’s have to have a note put down about cleaning up after themselves.
It is ridiculous that a campus of adults is being reminded to have proper hygiene. However, this is a small part of the real problem visible on our campus.
Despite how much we love and treasure the environment we have, the community consistently leaves trash lying around everywhere.
I have seen students just leave their trash at tables, probably thinking, “This isn’t my job anyways,” and walking on. This is an easy mentality to have but think about the custodial staff we have that works hard everyday to keep our campus clean and hygienic.
Photo: Thomas Coveney
They do not just clean up our bathrooms, but make sure that the trash is taken out, the floors are clean and signs are posted when the floors are wet.
Commuters, faculty and residents use these facilities every day. There should be a little more care for the way we treat the custodial staff but also the campus itself.
There should be more of a respect to want the campus to look clean and to thank those staff members that maintain it.
If anything, it looks like a slap to the face for students to just leave their trash lying around.
This is not only important in respect to our custodial staff but to prospective students who might see that there is random trash sitting on tables or on the ground.
Our ground keepers, physical plant workers and custodial staff work too hard to just be lazy about putting your trash in the cans, which are easily accessible all over campus.
The university even offers sustainability options, to recycle paper, plastic and cardboard.
Please stop treating our campus like it is somebody else’s job to clean up after you.
Start remembering that the campus is supposed to feel like a home away from home.
