The clean modernness of Paresky seems to diminish around dinnertime. It devolves into a chaotic heap of trash — plates abandoned with half-eaten food and floors littered with oily napkins and cheeseburgers.
This is exactly what Soren Anderson-Flynn ’29 pointed out in his Record op-ed last semester: We have a problem with how messy we leave our shared dining spaces. Although Anderson-Flynn does not advocate for “wiping down every table we eat at, picking up every crumb, or even returning every chair exactly where we found it,” I think there is a reason for us to do more than avoiding “gross, preventable messes” and instead actively help clean the spaces we rely on.
The College’s janitorial staff works hard to clean carpets, pick up plates, scoop up trash, and mop up weird stains, all of which we leave behind. Because they clean our messes, how we treat these spaces implicitly reflects how we treat the staff — other human beings. Do we want to be the kind of people that see so little value in the labor and dignity of the individuals who care for us? With the prestige associated with attending the College, one would think that we are intelligent and thoughtful enough to see this issue and make efforts to be kind to the people who clean, even if no one is looking.
It’s for our sake, too; these buildings are our homes. They’re where we make memories with our professors, staff, friends, and peers. I’ve felt overwhelmingly that the people here at the College are very willing to help each other. Maybe a lot of people come here because the small town community feels close-knit, but when I see the lack of care for our spaces in a pumpkin pie smeared on the floor or a piece of gum stuck under the table, the College feels a little more like a city where everyone is out for themselves. I hope that we can treat our spaces in a way that reflects how we value each other and the College staff.
Thus, we ought to not only avoid leaving messes after dinner or in the bathroom but also pick up messes when we see them. I want us to shove down the paper towels overflowing the bathroom trash can and pick up the fries on the carpet. You may find that disgusting, but I think these easy actions make us better Ephs and community members. And isn’t being a well-rounded person, who is not only knowledgeable but also considerate, the Platonic ideal of a liberal arts education?
There have been posters around campus about the cutting of staff benefits and break times. These complaints are valid, but we, as students, also have a responsibility to the staff. Let’s not ignore our own commitment to all people who work at the College and not just the ones who give us grades and thus automatically command our respect. Please, let’s be good to the space we have, to each other, and to our home for four years.
Sam Geller ’29 is from Lenox, Mass.
