Talkin' Trash

Two incidents for your consideration:

First: last semester, sometime in the spring, outside of Minor Hall. I was on my way to Newcomb and had just picked up a copy of the Cavalier Daily from the newsstand on the Bryan Hall walkway. As I opened it up to take a look at the front page, an insert fell onto the sidewalk. I glanced back but didn't feel compelled to stop and pick it up. Fortunately a student taking a smoke break on the steps of Minor was not so blithe about my random act of littering. He accosted me in a firm but non-threatening manner: "Are you going to leave that there?" Chagrined that the voice of my Eagle Scout conscience had to come from a random passerby, but genuinely glad that someone had had the guts to call me on my thoughtless action, I turned around and picked up the insert, smiled, and said "thanks."

Second: last Thursday, Cabell fourth floor west lobby, 9:20 a.m. On my way to Beethoven discussion, I passed by the newsstand in the lobby and came upon a pile of newspapers and inserts. I saw that the Dec had been covered up with trash, removed the offensive litter, and proceeded to pick up my "daily pick-me-up," not really giving much heed to the pile of paper, until I spotted a fellow student picking up her "daily pick-me-up" and proceeding quite deliberately to shake out the inserts from her newspaper onto the heap. Disgusted at such a flagrant display of sloth, I confronted her with a friendly but firm, "Could you pick that up please? I think that's really rude." She gave me a mild-to-medium go-to-hell look but nevertheless bent down to pick up the inserts and put them in the trash. She muttered something under her breath, but I couldn't make it out. It sure as hell wasn't a thank-you though.

My fellow Wahoos, what are you doing? Do you drop trash on your kitchen floor at home for your parents or siblings (or housekeeper) to pick up? Even if you do, your parents and siblings or housekeepers aren't here to pick up after you. And don't tell me that we have janitors for things like that. They have enough to do tearing down your fliers from non-designated doors and walls and picking up your soda cans and candy wrappers from classrooms. I know we pay a lot in tuition and I know we all think we have more significant things to occupy our time, but please.

And how's about a bit of shame around here from time to time? Are we so post-modernistically (try to look that one up, Mr. Rorty) detached that we can't even call each other on offensive public behavior? I know that guilt is not a pleasant tool --you've got a cradle Catholic writing here -- but these desperate times call for an occasional resounding "FOR SHAME!!!"

That's all, I guess. Although allow me to continue the shame revival right now. Why must financially secure university publications accept litter-generating insert advertisement offers to begin with?

-- JPS

Viewpoint is written by a member of the managing board of The Declaration on a weekly basis.