At the end of last week, I was talking to a friend about possible topics for this week's column. I told him I wanted to write about an issue that has directly affected both students and Athens residents ' an issue that people on both sides of the city/campus line have dealt with in their daily lives.
I've got one
he said. I was sitting on my porch last week eating my lunch and this lady walks by and says 'You look like you could use some exercise. Why don't you get down here and clean up your yard. I don't want my town turning into a slum!'
My friend said he had no idea how to respond, but his anecdote illustrates a common problem between students and the non-student residents of Athens ' the Your Mother Doesn't Live Here Phenomenon.
That's right, students. In case you didn't get the memo when you moved in, your mother doesn't live here! That means you have to do your own laundry, manage your own time, and yes, even clean up after yourself.
Students who are lucky enough to still live in the dorms don't feel this responsibility as much as off campus dwellers do. Dining hall employees wash your dishes and the saints who work in the maintenance department clean up your messes in the living areas and bathrooms of the residence halls.
Ohio University students are lucky enough to attend one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, which should serve as a huge incentive to keep Athens looking breathtakingly gorgeous ' not just breathtaking because of the stench of stale beer evaporating from dozens of forgotten beer cans on your front lawn.
A sunny afternoon Uptown could give any non-student resident all the fodder they need to think students don't care about this town. Fast food wrappers dot the sidewalks, usually only a few meager feet from a trash can. Cigarette butts stick like confetti between the bricks in the roadway, and the token beer cans line porches and balconies along College, Court and Congress streets.
Students often forget that they are not nomads who stop in Athens to refill their tanks for four years ' students are residents here too. No matter where we are originally from, for four years (or more), Athens is our home and it's a beautiful, unique town to live in at that.
Unfortunately, because of the Mother phenomenon, students think that they can somehow live here without cleaning up after themselves, and thus give Athens residents every right to be concerned about their town turning into slums like my friend's new favorite Athens resident is.
In order to show Athens residents that students really do care about this town and really do want to keep it as gorgeous as it is, students, I have a challenge for you over the next two weeks.
Earth Day is this Saturday, April 22. In true Athens style, several campus and Athens-area organizations are hosting an Athens Earth Day Street Fair Uptown on Union Street (between Court and College Streets). Street fairs in this town are usually really fun, and this one will be chock full of displays and information about how we can all reduce our ecological footprint while we're on the planet. This year, there's even an Earth Ball at the Blue Gator Saturday night. Student tickets are just $5 (general tickets are $7). Desserts and drinks will abound, and all proceeds benefit Rural Action.
Next Saturday, April 29, is Athens Beautification Day, which is being organized and sponsored by ' yes, yes, yes! ' a student organization. The Ohio Mens' Club Water Polo Team has put together this all-day event. Dozens of student groups and Athens-area organizations have pledged to be a part of the event, which is sure to leave Athens litter-less, tidy and ready for Spring.
To get involved, get in contact with a Mens' Water Polo Team member, or just spend a few minutes on that day cleaning up your own corner of Athens. Pick up the litter in your yard, sweep up all the cigarette butts from your last party and maybe even give your windows a Windex treatment.
This is our town. It's time we started acting like it.
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Emily Vance
