When I first stepped foot onto our beautiful campus, I could not help but be in awe of the architecture, sense of community and immense pride - pride I felt internally for the achievements that got me here. I truly felt a sense of belonging that I had never had before.
I know I am not alone in this feeling as it is almost palpable as you cross the university grounds. We are truly blessed to part of such a tightly-knit community that cares immensely for the safety and success of its student body. Yet it pains me when I witness occurrences of the opposite end of the emotional spectrum; little, almost unperceived acts of disrespect for oneself and one's school.
The other morning I was outside of Deet's reading the latest Collegiate Times, when I noticed two students exiting the coffee shop with their ice cream sundaes in hand. One of them dropped their spoon on the ground. Stopped in their tracks, they stood staring at the fallen utensil. As if dumbfounded, they pondered their next course of action. One of them suggested picking the spoon up, but the other quickly uttered, "That is gross!" Now we all can agree that using the tainted spoon to finish one's dessert is sanitarily unsound. So the friend of the rather un-dexterous, ladle-wielding one offered to fetch a new tool for the would-be litterer. Unconcerned for the plastic they now contributed to our beautiful Hokie Stone patio, they sat and finished their sweet creations, then eventually meandered off to participate in whatever it is self absorbed, unconcerned people do.
Now I have belabored the point a bit, yet I am sure we all witness similar events every day. Whether it is the spilled drink and crumb explosion on the table no one is sitting at, the fallen rice crispy treat that jumped out of the tongs on the floor, or the left over plates from the eating competition, I have noticed a growing trend in the lack of accountability for one's actions. One could draw parallels here, but that's an argument for another article. Here I am speaking of our home, for I consider Virginia Tech to be my home for the next few years, and then I (we) will pass it on to the next generation of future Hokies. Some might consider my point to be trivial, but my upbringing suggests otherwise. Stop placing the responsibility of cleaning up after ourselves on others. We do not tip those who work for VT Dining to do this for us. Have some dignity and Hokie respect for our home. With that I will step down from my soap box. Thank you to all of you who work hard at keeping our campus one of the most beautiful across the nation. Go Hokies!
Wayne Bruce
junior
computer science
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Yawn. The janitors need to make their money somehow.
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Wayne Bruce huh? I know a guy named Bruce Wayne, you guys should hang out.
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Maybe instead of spending an hour writing this you could have just picked up the spoon? Like it or not, there will always be trash that does not make it to its intended trash receptacle for whatever reasons, intentional littering or otherwise. People are employed to deal with that fact of life. No it is not a glorious job and no people should not intentionally make that job harder for those who work it. How about people who have parties and leave the surrounding area littered with bottles, cans, solo cups, cigarette butts, and other assorted trash every single weekend? There are a lot bigger littering issues than a kid not picking up a spoon, get a life.
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I don't think you're catching the drift of his argument. Perhaps you would understand if your approach to life wasn't so pragmatic.
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Nice little article here, cleverly written in the example paragraph too. Sometimes I become disheartened when I see so many "self-absorbed, unconcerned" people living around me, only to remember that they are fellow Hokies too. I must say, I love my school, but not every person who goes here.
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