Ripon College Days

By now the fact that you're not in high school should be evident in more ways than one. You've heard it from professors when they expect your work done early and well. You've heard it from your friends when they are bashing the girl who's holding a grudge against you for making out with that one guy she like-likes. However, it seems there is one commonly overlooked dimension of this mantra. Nobody here is your mama, so clean up after yourself.

Back in the glory days of high school when we all lived at home, wonderful, nurturing parents would come and clean up after us. Even if your parents weren't so wonderful and nurturing, at the end of the day, they would fix whatever literal or metaphorical mess you created because they loved you and wanted what was best for you.

Well, this isn't high school, and you don't have that special angel looking over your shoulder. This means you are completely responsible for your environment. It's your prerogative to enjoy yourself in whatever fashion you find fit. But, when this evening spews out random containers and other souvenirs into the hallways and out of the main doors, it becomes everyone's problem. You have a responsibility to maintain your own dignity, to show consideration for those who share your living space and who would rather not wallow in your squalor.

Furthermore, it's embarrassing when tours of Ripon College have to completely circumvent the Quads on their trips here, for fear of stumbling upon scores of empty beer bottles strewn upon the sidewalk. Throwing loaded garbage cans out of windows may seem like a good idea, but at least have the decency to retrieve the product of your late night physics experiments when you sober up in the morning. And, for the record, in-room target practice is never a good idea.

Beer cans and bras are not the only leftovers of our misdeeds. It's just as common a sight to see an RA's bulletin board on the ground in tatters, or simply defiled, as it is to see it in its original condition. Similarly, it's not an uncommon occurrence to see an exit sign laying on the ground shattered, or just barely hanging from its wiring. Nor is it rare or at all unheard of to see a door kicked in instead of opened.

The contempt that we seem to have for our place is appalling. Would you just bust your porch light at home? Or kick in your brother's door? Even if you did, that doesn't give you permission to do it here. We pay to go here... most of us anyway; and we should be taking steps to enhance and enjoy, rather then degrade and destroy.

It has been argued that students mistreat their residence in response to being placed in what they believe is substandard housing. In their minds, this excuses whatever delinquency they choose to engage in and inflict upon others.

President Joyce has announced plans for several renovations to be made on campus, including the especially disregarded Brockway and somewhat improved Bovay. So, if you feel your destruction is justified by your poor living conditions, hopefully next year your behavior will improve. If you're just irresponsible and expect others to "just deal," clean up after yourself. By this time, you should have outgrown those antics which are better suited to high school, than "higher education."

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