The “Trash Situation”

Listen. I get it. I really do. The trash situation at Armfield has gotten ridiculous. All year, the ground has been littered with everything from broken glass, cans, vomit, bicycles, bras, shirts, pants, underwear covered with barbeque sauce, to that one mattress that has been circulating around the building since early September. And one doesn't have to walk by early on a Sunday or Saturday to witness this disarray: it can be seen throughout the week as well.

It has almost become a custom for me to sit down on my couch on Sunday night, pull up my Davidson email, and receive a fine for the "trash situation." Usually, one of my roommates or I will respond to the notice with the same canned response that we rehash every week: although we had a party, we got up early to clean up the mess, and therefore we shouldn't receive a fine. While this doesn't take all too long, it is still a pain.

At the end of each of the emails that we receive, there is always a stipulation saying that if any of the parties responsible were to come forward, the fine would be waived for all of those not involved. Although I suppose the Honor Code doesn't apply to this situation, coming forward just seems like the honorable thing to do. Unfortunately, no one ever does.

The fines don't seem to be working. The amount of trash around Armfield has grown considerably since the beginning of the year, and seniors care more about sleeping in than they do about fines. In fact, few seniors even see the fines themselves because RLO charges their student accounts. The dumpsters that the Residence Life Office installed near the corners of Armfield have helped somewhat, but they are more effective at preventing trash from building up within apartments than they are at preventing trash from building up outside.

How do you fix the trash situation? One idea would be to give students some skin in the game. However, this would be difficult to do unless RLO were to charge Catcard accounts. While this might encourage people to clean up after parties, however, it would still penalize those who didn't contribute to the mess.

Another idea would be to introduce kegs. While, yes, this would introduce insurance issues, I can guarantee you that this wouldn't lead to more binge drinking. Given any alcoholic beverage, Davidson students will drink to get drunk. Cans don't serve as metaphorical contraceptives that magically prevent binge drinking. Want proof? We had seven ambulances come during one weekend night last semester. Seven. Ambulances. At least with kegs we would help the environment and possibly prevent littering, although Solo® cups might still end up on the ground.

I don't know if there is a perfect solution, to be honest. People should pick up after themselves. It's disrespectful to leave that responsibility to Physical Plant. And it's even more disrespectful to ask innocent students to pay.

Mike Romano is a Chemistry major from Fairfield, CT. Contact him at miromano@davidson.edu