Calling all slobs, Garden Apartment West is the place for you
Two weeks ago, Drew Torres, a junior at St. Bonaventure University, walked through the front lobby of Garden apartment West to an unpleasant, putrid smell. The smell, you may ask? A mountain of fishy-smelling trash bags, beer cans and other loose garbage. According to Torres, the pile of laziness had been in the same spot for two weeks.
However, this has been a year-round, lingering problem in Garden apartment West. Since the semester’s earliest beginnings, maintenance workers and residents have taken notice. While the guilty culprits of this maddening issue are unknown, their fellow residents have become both furious and disgusted.
According to Jared Smith, director of facilities, students on the east side of campus, with the exception of Francis Hall, are responsible for taking out their own trash to the dumpster and recycling rooms. Maintenance workers aren’t Waste Management employees.
“We are aware of the situation,” Smith said via email. “We have reached out to Residence Life for them to remedy the situation.”
Smith said, “We provide dumpsters to the students. When we notice an issue with students not taking out their trash, we contact Residence Life.”
John Lehman, residence director of the East side of campus, said Residence Life communicates with a particular building’s residents anytime facilities or maintenance makes them aware of excessive trash.
“Residence life would like to remind all students living in apartment-style living that they are responsible for all of their own personal trash removal,” he said.
Chris Neverette, a sophomore major living in Garden apartment West, said the level of disrespect shown by the guilty culprits of laziness has pissed him off. He said no one should want to live in such filthy conditions.
“The disrespect of some of the residents in this building is terrible,” Neverette said. “I’ve seen fully loaded garbage bags in the hallways for weeks at a time. This is something that shouldn’t be an issue with college students. No one with any self-respect should want to live with such filth that we have had this year.”
Lehman agreed. He said he hopes the residents of Garden apartment West, and anywhere on campus, treat their living spaces with more respect.
“I hope students become more mindful of those living around them, take pride in the community they live in and be respectful of others who they share the space with,” he said.
Adam Glowacki, a junior resident, described the situation as destructive. He said if one person does it, more will follow.
“It’s destructive,” Glowacki said. “It’s a shared common space, and if one person does it, others will follow. Why would someone else want to be clean when everyone seems to be throwing garbage everywhere?”
Thomas Sands, also a junior resident, went as far as removing a pile of trash that wasn’t his from Garden apartment West’s front lobby in September. In doing so, he unpleasantly found rodents. Instead of ranting, Sands put things simply.
“I am sick of it!” Sands said.
Morgan Wahl, who lives across the hall from Sands and Torres, shared similar thoughts. She said because of her apartment’s close proximity to the front lobby, unpleasant smells often creep into their apartment. Not only have the hallways been littered with trash, but the laundry room, which is on the first floor, has been, too.
“We could smell trash bags that were left in the hallway right when we opened our door since it’s right there. Everyone leaves beer cans in the hallways, and the laundry room is always filled with garbage,” she said.
The frustrating part for everyone, though? The dumpsters are just a short walk away.
“People are old enough to walk right outside the building and throw their trash,” Torres said.
Neverette said, “What’s so difficult about walking 50 feet to the dumpster?”
Smith added, “The dumpsters are actually very close to the building.”
Lehman said it’s concerning to him, alluding to the laziness of some.
“I find it concerning that some students are not disposing of trash in the dumpsters, which are located just feet away from the building.”
By Mike Hogan, Managing Editor
hoganm17@bonaventure.edu
