Too many times, I have seen security guards, teachers and even students picking up immense amounts of garbage around campus. With over fifty garbage cans located around campus, according to the Principal’s Secretary Audrey Harrison, it puzzles me as to why I still find candy wrappers stuck to the bottom of my shoe.

As we know, West High School is an excellent school with a powerful curriculum, but that reputation can diminish quickly when visitors come to meet a trash-infested campus. Although the grounds are not particularly “dirty,” these bad habits can turn West High into a junk yard.

When asked how he felt about the matter, security guard and cleaning advocate, Rick Jimenez said, “If every student picked up at least one piece of trash, our campus would be spotless.”

Even in P.E., a class that has a zero food tolerance policy, you can still find piles of waste both in the gyms and on the black top.

P.E. teachers Ms. Becky Brown and Ms. Stephanie Pease, both agreed that the P.E. areas are their classrooms. “It is unfair to constantly pick up after students…when I see someone litter, I turn it into a joke saying ‘Hey, look, you dropped something!'” Brown said.

So next time you decide to dispose of your trash, improperly, remember that West High School, and its façade, is a reflection of you and your peers.

“Be responsible, throw away your trash and respect the campus,” Pease said.