Nothing frustrates me more than the blatant disregard students seem to have lately shared spaces, in residence halls.

Now, I know the year is coming to end and we are all plagued with an end of semester pressures, but that is no excuse to disrespect the community you live in, your fellow students and the people who clean up after you.

Everyone has to learn to be on their own, and learn to clean up after themselves, but this problem is continuous on campus and has gotten a lot worse in the final weeks of the year.

There are week-old dishes in the sinks, Ramen in the drains, Q-tips in the drinking fountains and trash covering bathroom floors.

Why do we still have signs on bathroom stalls reading, “don’t forget to flush?” Isn’t flushing the toilet and cleaning up after yourself something that should be common knowledge for a college student? I mean, we are adults.

Come on, Jacks, let’s leave our shared spaces the way we would like to find them. Channel that inner voice of your parents’ telling you to pick up that wrapper, or clean that plate and let’s be  part of the solution, not the problem.

Doing your dishes while cooking is a good way to not have loads of them to do when you’re done feasting on your delicious creation.

If you want to bring out your inner “baller” and toss your water bottle or pizza box in the trash, but miss your shot, take the time to pick it back up. Picking up your trash shouldn’t be another person’s job.

Properly clean out the sink after washing your dishes. It takes a few seconds to go the extra mile and rinse your food down the drain or throw the excess in the trash where it belongs.

If you’re grossed out by the food-covered stove or hair clumps in the shower, make an effort to ensure you don’t leave our community spaces in the same shape when you use them. 

We have all learned the proper ways to clean up after ourselves, and that should be nobody’s job but our own. Take some time to evaluate the way you are using your spaces and, while you’re at it, give a “thank you” to a member of SDSU’s cleaning staff. They do so much for our living spaces which we should all appreciate.

You never know, it might just make their day a little brighter and job a little easier.

Everyone’s small actions can help make our halls cleaner, happier and healthier places to live. It may be the end of the semester, but it is never to late to improve.

Natalie Hilden is the Opinion Editor for The Collegian and can be reached at [email protected].