Letter to the Editor: Environmental ethics, or lack thereof

Dear Editor:

If I may for a few brief moments grab the attention of all those who partake in smoking cigarettes, smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, having sex outdoors, chewing gum and drinking bottled water. If you do not fit into the aforementioned categories then please move on, this article does not concern you.

Now that I have dispensed of the few who somehow have avoided taking part in any of the activities that I mentioned, I have to say that you are the dirtiest people on this campus. Since my first day on this campus, I have heard people complain about the physical beauty of Rider. Yet while someone is telling me this, they flick their cigarette carelessly into the grass. Now I will buy into the argument that the cigarette filter is made of mostly paper and it will “biodegrade,” but all it really does is degrade the look of the campus.

I also understand how hard it must be for cigarette smokers to place their cigarettes in designated areas. I mean flicking in the general direction of waste cans is a very difficult task. As for the members of our college who smoke weed, throw your baggies out. I really don’t need to see your dime bags littered around our campus. Every day I walk through the parking lot or across from the Student Center to the academic buildings and I cross a slew of baggies and condoms.

This brings me to my next point. What are you people doing? Or rather, where are you doing it? I have no problem with this expression of love—just toss out your leftovers. This is not really too much to ask.

Now onto the problem of drinking on campus. There is no problem, because apparently the ducks are the real drinkers, since every can of beer is to be found around the lake—or in the lake. (Perhaps this explains why the ducks seem to be attacking more people. Who knew they were angry drunks?) I mean the Old English and Steel Reserve 211 40-ouncers around the lake must be put there for some reason that I just do not get. How about walking your beverages to the garbage can and throwing them out? Again, this is not too much to ask for.

And, as for that Zima drinker that leaves his or her glass containers around campus, I have nothing to say because the humiliation of drinking Zima is punishment in itself. The same goes for the drinkers of purified water.

Now, I understand the need for pure water especially because of the alleged water trouble certain buildings faced not too long ago, but just get rid of the bottles. There is no need to drop it in the parking lot or, the always popular “leave it by your chairs in the classrooms.”

If you’re smart enough to place the dollar in the machine to get your “reverse osmosis” Aquafina, (is reversing osmosis good?), you should be able to recycle the bottle.

Finally, the gum chewers of our school of higher education are also a problem. Have you ever gotten gum stuck on your shoe? Do you have any idea what it is like trying to get that off your shoe? I have had the pleasure of stepping in this ABC (already been chewed) gum and trying to remove the peppermint (or spearmint) goo from my shoe. All I ask of the gum chewers is to place your gum in the garbage. I’ll even say start by placing the gum in a tissue.

If you made it this far, my ranting is almost over, bear with me. All I ask is that students at Rider begin to realize that we have to make the difference to make the campus beautiful. Don’t leave it up to the staff of the University to clean up after you. They do a good job, but if they had more time they could focus on other much-needed repairs rather than fishing in the lake for bottles of Absolut. What we need is to start having some sort of environmental ethics. But much like this newspaper, on Friday night, these ideas will just end up in the dirt, not in the trash.

Douglas Tomson

Junior, political science major