By Sophia Lashmar, Year 11
Have you spent any time in the Greek Theatre recently? Or have you seen the cafeteria at the end of lunch break? If you go out for lunch, surely you have noticed the trail of litter that lines the path from the school to the tram stop.
As a school, LGB is well-maintained and has historically been clean, litter-free and orderly. However, in recent months our campus has become strewn with litter, mess and evidence of lack of care from students.
The once spotless Greek Theatre has become a dumping ground for students’ lunch trays, napkins, takeout boxes and trash. And, the Greek Theatre is not the only spot on campus noticing this drastic uptake in litter.
This observation begs the question of why? Why is there so much more rubbish left around campus than before? Students from Middle School and High School alike leave their cafeteria cups and plates and trays and pizza boxes and napkins and wrappers out on benches, tables and steps around the campus. This not only indicates that students are disrespectful to the property, but that they are blatantly ignoring their duty to clean up after themselves.
Even though there are recycling bins all over LGB’s campus, students still do not use them. This clearly implies that the problem is not a lack of bins, nor a lack of recycling options, or even a lack of space in the bins. The issue stems from an attitude that is prevalent at LGB, the expectation that someone else will clean up after you, that someone else will do it for you, that it is someone else’s responsibility. LGB Students should strive to be Global Citizens, to think for themselves and to have an impact on the world. The only impact that these students are having is contributing to litter, pollution and landfill, which is surely not what the school has in mind.
Before focusing on high-minded ideals such as global citizenship, self-agency and social impact, the school should aim to teach its students that they, and no one else are responsible for their actions. This is applicable to the littering issue at hand, but also on a greater scale, in which students need to take ownership of the consequences of their actions.
Picking up rubbish and returning abandoned supplies to the cafeteria is not the job of the hardworking Service Technique, nor the teachers, nor other students. Students of LGB, have some respect for your environment and your school.
Great article with a passionate message. Such a shame that kids these days do not feel a sense of shame when they are straight up disrespecting our beautiful campus and our wonderful staff!