LETTER: Stadium litter shows apathy
To the editor:
I have lived in Aggie Village now for four years. I will qualify that I am not a football fan, and during my time in the Village – a building very near the stadium, I might add – I have simply learned to tolerate the noise, congestion, and inconvenience that accompanies Aggie games. However, one thing I am losing patience for is the mess that is left in the wake of these “big” games. Following our defeat of the Utes on Friday night, the east stadium parking lot (as well as other areas) was left in a dismal state – beer cans, soda bottles, fast food bags, cigarette cartons, and various other types of garbage were strewn about the lot and grounds adjacent to the stadium. A couple of us “Village People” came out to clean up a bit, and I got to thinking while I gathered up other people’s refuse. Perhaps the blame can be left on the Ute fans; perhaps it is the sheer quantity of people that this game attracted. The cause and blame are not really my interest and not the impetus inspiring my words to you. Two things specifically occurred to me: one, why aren’t more Aggies concerned with the disregard shown our stadium and campus such that this mess wasn’t taken care of by a small army of volunteers on Saturday morning? Perhaps, like me, most Aggies work Saturdays and were unable to volunteer that day. This is a reasonable excuse, but highly unlikely. Secondly, a wonderment: when we are on the road and we are guests in someone else’s home, do we represent ourselves and our quality better than to leave our host’s school grounds in a similarly sorry state as ours was left following the Ute game? I am a proud Aggie and I love my school, but today I am terribly disappointed in the lack of pride shown by my fellow Aggies and the utter complacency and disregard shown for our property and home by a visiting school and by our own students. I hope that we as students and Aggie fans can remember that, regardless of the occasion or location, these schools and properties are people’s homes and backyards, too. Let’s do a better job of showing our pride as Aggies and quality as friends and neighbors, and treat their homes better than we and they treated ours.
Cory Nani