Today is a beautiful day November day. Along with the grandeur of Election Day (I hope you voted!), the gloomy rainy weather outside makes it especially comforting to study inside the GDC. However, with your time in the GDC you may find some unpleasant surprises. I want you all to look at something...

Trash I found in GDC

This is a picture of trash I found on the couches of the GDC Lobby today, one of my favorite spots (catch me on Tuesdays and Thursdays). It may only be a couple of straw wrappers from Starbucks beverages, but it certainly more than that. It's carelessness. This is evident as you take note of what is only a couple of steps away...

Yes, if you can vaguely make that out it's a trash can that's right nearby these straw wrappers. While being in computer science is extremely time consuming, it may not always be convenient to take a couple of seconds out of your day to throw away trash. However, we should remember that every little effort makes a difference and really doesn't take much time.

Consider this, the GDC is not even two years old yet and we have had to take several precautions to maintain the beauty and status of our building. From allowing only CS majors after hours in the building to banning food and drink in the computer labs to coping with the loss of many of our rolling white boards, we've had to face serious building management issues. Many of us live on our own and take care of our possessions, our homes/apartment/dorm, and ourselves. Should we have an excuse to not take care of our second home?

So let's take initiative to not be trashy and make every effort to keep our building beautiful! Throw away your trash, push in your chair in the labs, keep your bathroom hygiene to a superb level, and really do anything that is positive to the condition of the building. Because if we don't, it could very much turn into another Painter Hall (one of "beautiful" former homes), and do we really want to go back to that? In the spirit of Election Day, we're always reminded that every vote counts. Hence, in taking responsibility for our mess, we must rememeber every piece of trash counts!


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