Clean up after yourself, South!!!
Students leave trash on their table after fourth lunch, Nov. 30.
Plastic bags, empty cartons of milk, food trays, and mashed up french fries. All of these things are found daily around the lunchroom after each lunch. I understand though. It is such a hassle to pick up the heavy plate of trash, and take it all the way to the trash can that is 10 steps away. You have to have some serious muscle for that. It is seriously impossible.
Oh wait. It’s not. Picking up your trash after lunch is the easiest thing that you will have to do during your 7 hours at school. But no. People refuse to pick up their scraps and leave it for the custodians. It’s time to wake up! THE CUSTODIANS ARE NOT YOUR MAIDS! We are in highschool now. It is time to pick up your own messes and realize that when you are an adult, there won’t be a custodian to pick up your sandwich crusts after your lunch break.
“But, it’s their job”, is what I have heard from kids at my lunch when I have reminded them to take care of their mess.
Yes, the custodians are paid to clean. But they are not paid to clean up after YOU. Custodians sweep, mop, vacuum, or use industrial cleaning equipment to clean floors, clean and stock bathrooms, make sure buildings are secure, clean windows, and minor building maintenance and repairs.
“It would be extremely respectful for not just their surroundings and fellow students, but also to the custodial staff who clean up lunches every single day”, said Brian Medlock, a custodian here at Parkway South.
Picking up your trash after lunch is the easiest thing that you will have to do during your 7 hours at school.
“On average, over half a bag of lunches are left for the custodians to pick up at every lunch,” said Medlock.
Personally, I don’t enjoy picking up after people and I don’t think that anyone would say that they do.
High schoolers are supposed to be at a strong level of maturity, but when you look around the lunchroom is that really being achieved?
In the past week, custodians have put signs on the lunch tables to remind students that they need to clean up after themselves. This has definitely not achieved its purpose. Today, one of my friends stood up when the bell rang to go to class and left his trash at the table. When I told him to pick up his trash, he said “that’s not mine,”. I pointed at the sign and he still walked away. This is just one example of the many times that kids leave their trash at the lunch tables.
So, next time you find yourself at a table filled with trash, be that person and help the custodial staff out. Don’t be a barbarian, be clean.
