It is often claimed that a first impression is the final impression. Then again, those same cliché-users say that you can’t judge a book by its cover. So, when a visitor comes to the College and happens to use the urinal in the first floor men’s room of the library, he may experience an array of feelings, some of them attributed to the baffling graffiti scrawled on the wall. But the existence of graffiti going un-cleaned symbolizes not only poor maintenance, but a student body that disrespects and vandalizes property. The same goes for a rotten banana stuck inside a chandelier outside Decker Hall, or trashed bathrooms in the Towers. While the cleaning staff has a duty to ensure that the campus is well-maintained, those who use the campus must do their share, too.
When tough financial times come to institutions, maintenance is among the “little things” that gets chipped away at first. Such budget cuts prevent staff from having enough resources to keep the campus in tip-top shape, or even having enough staff in the first place. While the results are often subtle, they add up over time: walls go un-painted, facades of the buildings crack (such is the case with the columns outside of the library), and floors go un-vacuumed. Discrete observers may notice this, but students most likely will not. However, students must do their part to make up for this, primarily by treating their campus and the facilities with the respect that it deserves.
This means, among other things, not leaving trash strewn about outside, or urinating in the elevators of residence halls, or leaving paper towels in a pile on the bathroom floor when the bins are full. Proactivity is required (when you see something, say something!) to keep facility managers aware of maintenance problems that occur across campus. Combining the efforts of those who maintain the campus with those who use the campus will result in a community that is cleaner and more enjoyable for everyone.
— Brian Kempf, Features Assistant
While you should always practice not judging a book by its cover, people are always going to do it. That’s why no one in their right mind would wear sweatpants to a job interview, and that’s why no one would invite someone into their home without first cleaning the dirty dishes and vacuuming the floor. First impressions mean a lot.
So, just as we would never (hopefully) recklessly throw garbage on the floors of our homes or slam doors so hard that the doorknobs fall off, we should treat our homes at the College (this includes the entire campus) in the same way. If you throw something into a garbage can but accidentally miss, take the extra three seconds to pick it up. When you feel the urge to write something on the door of a bathroom stall, don’t; we’re no longer in high school (although I don’t think this was even acceptable then).
We should all the love the College campus and be proud of the school we attend. Therefore, we should treat it with the respect it deserves. As we should always want to make a great first impression for ourselves, we should all, through a combined effort, help the College make the same great first impression for itself. Treat our campus with respect and it will, in turn, make that great first impression and will be given the respect by others that it deserves.
— Amy Reynolds, Managing Editor
