In my three years living on campus and experiencing the different environments of all the residential buildings, I have noticed the significant disparities between them – particularly how they are maintained in the common areas.

As a freshman, I was impressed by how often a facilities staff member would clean the communal bathrooms, hallways, stairways and lobby in the complexes. However, once I moved into upperclassmen housing I found that those appearances from staff became less and less. Of course, in the suites we are responsible for a lot more when it comes to maintaining our space. But, it seems that not everyone has got the memo.

The amount of trash left out in the hallways and stairwells to rot is quite shocking. And I find it hard to believe a lot of this trash was left behind “by accident” on the way to the dumpster. The “out of sight, out of mind” mentality is unfortunately common around here, and although it may take some time before people realize that this is inconsiderate to their neighbors, in the mean time there should be more indoor trash barrels in the lobby and at the end of hallways. Especially with the inclement weather lately, I am sure no one wants to go all the way out to the dumpster, but there really is no excuse to make a mess of where we live.