They are too lazy to throw away trash!

Lisa Lac

The student body of Oakland High seems to lack common sense on how to clean up after themselves!
Statistics show the majority of students who eat lunch in the commons have poor hygiene and don’t throw away their left-over trash after eating. This reflects negatively on their hygiene and living conditions. They are not the only ones who cause this school to be dirty.
“It’s pitiful how some students take care of their school like this,” said custodian Amber Cole, who has been working here for 3 years.
Students tend to think the staff who clean this school are known as janitors, but they are actually custodians. The “janitors” here do a lot more then just clean and replace toilet paper, towels, and trash bags. They are actually like caretakers of Oakland High; therefore, they prefer to be known as custodians.
“Sometimes we do what were not required to do, like changing light bulbs and other handy stuff,” said custodian Keith Lovell who has been working for OUSD for 9 years and 2 and a half for O-High. “The job to get them done falls back on us.”
It is embarrassing for high school students to trash their school when there are garbage bins spread everywhere throughout the campus. Some custodians feel like the administrators and officers are not enforcing rules that require the students to clean after themselves and to not litter. They feel that they’re just letting them get away with it. But on the contrary, other custodians feel differently.
“It’s just common sense to take ownership [to throw away your own trash],” said head custodian, Chris Woodruff. “It shouldn’t start with the administrators, but the student body.”
Several senior students notices the problem are mostly from younger grade levels, such as freshmen and sophomores.
“At the senior court, I see freshmen and sophomores leave their trash on the table so the custodians will clean it up,” said senior Deja McMorris. “I think it’s disrespectful and nasty because people wouldn’t want to eat there.”
Another senior felt that students who do not take the ownership to throw away their trash have no manners.
“They ain’t got no home training and if their momma saw it then they would be in trouble,” said senior LaShawn Price. “It makes our school look bad because what if a guest comes by and sees how dirty our school is because of our own actions?”
Senior ESA student Fahm Saephan notices how many students who eat at the commons leave their scraps and plates on the tables. It causes her to show empathy to the lunch ladies.
“I dislike how people eat lunch and don’t throw away their trash and then it comes down to the lunch ladies to clean it,” said Saephan. “They already have a job to serve us food, it shouldn’t be their job to clean after us too.”