The screams and shouts of children. Entire crowds of people milling about aimlessly. Waste strewn across the ground, dripping and crunching under the feet of jaded by passers.

It’s not a war zone—it’s the EHS commons at lunch.

Thanks to what must be a superhuman custodial staff, this daily debris disappears before kids return to feast again, but that’s no excuse to treat the commons like a Dumpster. No one ever said that feeding and keeping up with a school full of hungry teenagers was a simple task, but let’s face it: the student body can do its part.

The first semester has only just begun, and the scope of the problem is becoming all-too-clear again. Senior Emily Haar was disappointed by what she saw during the first few days.

“Since I have D lunch, I know what the commons looks like when everyone is finished,” she said. “We’re only a week into school and on multiple occasions I’ve seen stacks of trays left for someone to clean up after them.”

Pick. It. Up. It’s not difficult, or even remotely time-consuming. Junior Charlie Belobrajdic doesn’t understand how anyone could let the remains of a single meal snowball into the miniature landfills that accumulate on our lunch tables.

“I honestly don’t know why it’s a problem in the first place,” he said. “Just move your trash a few feet when you’re done eating.”

Custodians have resorted to ferrying rollable trash cans around each table to make things even easier. The problem somehow still persists, and senior Lorelei Frank said students are taking advantage of the custodians’ efforts.

“The custodians aren’t our moms,” Frank said. “It’s our responsibility, it’s our trash—we should be throwing it away ourselves.”

And don’t leave uneaten food out in the open. I know it must be difficult to finish and dispose of what you buy or bring for yourself, but spare your peers the sight of your soggy bagel or spilled Jell-O cup. Please.

This could be the year that we change things for the better. Do it for the custodians. Do it for your peers. Do it for yourself. We all deserve it.