The clock has gone down to 0, the players have waved to the crowd, and “That Good Old Baylor Line” has been sung, but something isn’t right. Turning around and heading out of the stadium, one can see that the fan sections, especially the student sections, are filled with trash. Empty bottles and food boxes line the ground, polluting an otherwise beautiful stadium.
The problem of littering doesn’t stop there, however. Walking around campus, one can see other littered items of trash. Disposing of trash anywhere other than a trash can also shows a lack of personal responsibility. When younger, kids are taught to clean up after themselves and put away the things they used during playtime. We are past the age of learning clean up.
For those who attend and visit the university, it should be seen as a basic decency to clean up after oneself and show respect for the surrounding area and people. Leaving trash on the ground is similar to leaving a messy living room in a house given to us, and instead of cleaning it, we continue to add garbage to it. We would be embarrassed if this happened in our house, so it should be our prerogative to make sure that the campus of Baylor is as beautiful as possible.
Even beer cans, cigarette butts and other prohibited materials can be seen trashed on campus. This gesture shows disrespect for the rules of the university and the efforts of staff to keep the campus clean. Baylor is a dry, smoke-free campus, so these items shouldn’t even be found on campus at all, especially not discarded improperly. If one chooses to break the rules, they should feel the urgency of putting away such contraband, hopefully away from the campus. Imagine touring Baylor, only to find an assortment of the exact substances the university says is kept off their campus. It shouldn’t be the university’s job to pick up items left behind by those on campus.
Staff work to make sure that pathways are clear and the fauna is pristine and well kept. This entails maintaining the naturally occurring overgrowth and leaf pileup. This does not include the trash students recklessly drop. It should also be mentioned that litter attracts pests, which no one wants to run into on their night walks on campus. Groundskeepers are tasked with a variety of different tasks to preserve the cleanliness and beauty of a vast and growing campus. We should not be adding to their to-do list.
Baylor is a beautiful, welcoming home. From McLane Stadium to Pat Neff, it’s our part as students of the university to take responsibility and clean up after ourselves. No one else can do that but ourselves.
