by Madeline Best
This year, activity one students have been leaving behind trash in the Commons. Students eating during activity two are finding left over food and trash awaiting them at their tables. The trash and lack of help from teachers is beginning to anger many.
Sandwich crusts, Jojo’s containers, squished grapes; these type of things can be found disregarded on tables after lunch. This upsets some students and makes them wonder when a change will be made. Students, such as sophomore Cassie Florido, are voicing their opinions to those who are causing the problem.
“I think the students who are leaving the trash on the tables are showing disrespect to the teachers, the other students who are using the lunch tables, and the school,” Florido said. “It’s not that hard to be respectful and clean up your trash when you leave the table.”
Florido is not the only one who thinks we need to respect one another’s space. Spanish teacher, Ms. Hollstein, is one of the regular lunch monitors and has witnessed girls leaving behind lunch bags and food.
“I think it’s everybody’s responsibility to clean and be respectful of each other because you don’t want somebody leaving behind stuff where you sit and then have to clean it up,” Hollstein said.
Seeing that it is the school’s responsibility to keep the Commons clean, who here is at fault for making them dirty in the first place? Sophomore Emily Hafner thinks the freshman are at fault because the tables are always very messy after they eat during activity one. When asked whether she agrees her grade was causing part of the mess, freshman Sydney Edmonds said that she sees her fellow freshmen leaving trash behind all the time.
According to Hollstein, teachers monitoring lunch would routinely walk around and remind girls to throw trash away last year. This year, there has been a drop in those reminders. Hollstein said that teachers would receive emails reminding them to do this, but this year they have not received these type of messages.
This leaves it up to the students to work on keeping their tables clean and reminding others to do the same.
Junior • Feb 28, 2012 at 6:12 pm
I am a junior and eat activity 1 in the Commons, if I do go to lunch, and notice there is a legitimate problem with the trash. I agree with Anna, it is two sided. I have been in the commons after activity 2 and see trash left by sophomores and seniors. I think the juniors for the most part clean up the tables. It is difficult however to clean away all crumbs and make the tables perfectly spotless because we do not have paper towels or things to clean with. I do agree that some freshmen are not doing their part. Not all, not even most, but some. But, before the sophomores and seniors complain aboutthe trash that is there when they arrive, they should think about all the trash and mess they leave behind. The only people who should really be complaining here are the maintence people. If we all just clean up our own trash, it would make their jobs a lot easier. And that goes to ALL students of STA, not just freshmen and juniors. Sophomores and seniors are to blame as well.
Anna Leach • Feb 28, 2012 at 9:55 am
Yes! Thanks for acknowledging this Madeline. This is becoming a real problem and is unacceptable on both sides of the equation. I eat during Act. 2 and there’s always trash around when I arrive, but the truth is, a lot of people from Act. 2 leave food and wrappers as well. The trashcans are always spilling over the ground and it looks like a mess. This is something we really need to work on as a school community.
Angered Activity 2 Lunch Eater • Feb 27, 2012 at 9:25 am
Yes! YES! This article needs to be read by EVERYONE. The Freshmen, the Juniors, their PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS.. we NEED these kind of reminders! When I was a freshman, teachers were crazy in the lunch room, making sure we wouldn’t leave trash!! Some of my friends received SBRs/ Detentions if caught leaving trash!!
Zoe • Feb 26, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Being a freshmen i know that people have to eat at the tables after us so i try to clean up trash and messes at my own table even if they are not mine. I feel so ashamed to be a freshmen when i see tables with soup, crumbs, trash, and water all over the tables.