We’ve all seen it. They get up from their lunch table with the remnants of corn dogs and chicken balls scattered behind them. Before a dean can chase them down, they’re gone. As they depart their friends thinks to themselves maybe we should clean that up, but after all, “that’s what the janitors are for.”

But it’s really not. Our maintenance staff is here to (spoiler alert) maintain the building. Not to clean up after us like zookeepers in a monkey cage. Yet BSM students’ blatant disrespect for our staff members is something to be ashamed of. We are in high school; we should be capable of a basic respect for the work of others.

We’re all guilty of this, some more than others; but we’ve all felt the temptation to just leave something for someone else to clean up. We realize it’s not always intentional and cleaning up your messes isn’t necessarily a survival instinct, but also realize that your sub-conscience is innately self-centered.

While it is much easier not to prolong the embarrassment of spilling your smoothie on the floor by simply leaving it there, in reality, you should be more embarrassed by the fact that you aren’t mature enough to clean up your own messes.

The expectation of cleanliness for a high school’s boys’ bathroom is low enough without the active contribution of it’s users. There’s a difference between keeping the space hygienic and and having toilet flushing be part of your job as a decent, functioning human being. Being able to flush your own toilets is a skill students should have mastered before high school. We feel you should be on a first name basis with someone before he or she has to flush your toilet.

The fact that we actually had to express that last paragraph epitomizes why this staff editorial is necessary. We can do better, so, so much better. An encounter with your junior high english teacher typically warrants a smile and a hello; but, for some reason, walking down an empty hallway opposite of a staff member seems to be an excuse to stare at the ground. Yet the staff has probably done just as much for you––it’s just behind the scenes.

This school could not run without its staff. They are an integral part of BSM’s community, and should be treated with the same respect as the rest of its members. Be polite, be courteous, and clean up after yourselves, you filthy animals.