Following an announcement by student council during school meeting, students, faculty, and kitchen staff alike are noticing a decrease in dirty dishes left strewn over Manzanita Hall at the end of lunch.
On Monday the student council brought to light the fact that students have been leaving their leftover food and empty dishes, which have to be cleaned up by kitchen staff, on the lunch tables. ASB emphasized, showing a video of the dirty lunchroom tables, that students are making the mess and need to be the ones to clean it up.
“The administration receives news almost daily that students leave their trash, dishes, and food on the tables, which the kitchen staff has to devote time to clean everyday. We need to remind students that it is not the kitchen staff’s duty to clean up after us,” ASB President Raghav Sehtia said. “When anyone sees the filth, it puts Harker in a negative light and shows that Harker students are irresponsible, which everyone know is not true.”
Many students quickly responded to the announcement and proceeded to hold up to their end of the deal by making more of an effort to clean up after themselves during lunch over the course of this week.
“A lot of my friends don’t always necessarily clean up their stuff, so I’ve been trying to remind them that there isn’t anyone else to clean up for them,” Neil Chitkara (10) said.
Teachers believe that the message relayed on Monday has resonated with the students and think that they will continue to keep their eating area clean for the remainder of the school year.
“They’ve totally taken the challenge on. They’ve been cleaning up much better and really took it upon themselves,” environmental sciences teacher Jeff Sutton said. “I’m always optimistic.”
The kitchen staff is very appreciative of the work that the students have put in to ensure that their lunch area stays cleaner and hope Upper School students continue to take care of Manzanita Hall.
“Yeah, it’s actually been a lot better. I’m impressed. I hope it keeps up,” kitchen staff member Tirath Singh said.
Despite a marked improvement, students still need to clean up better before the lunch tables are completely devoid of all leftover dishes and food.
“It looks better, although only a fraction better. It’s a start, but there’s still definitely a ways to go,” Katherine Woodruff (12) said.
As break quickly approaches, many hope that when school resumes, students will not forget about their effort to make Manzanita Hall a cleaner area.