By Hannah Leidy

Last Sunday morning, I ventured out from my dorm in quest of Peirce’s promised brunch. The cool air and shining sun marked the start of a beau- tiful day at Kenyon. But as I passed through the Gates of Hell, absorbed in the aesthetic world around me, I saw it: a crunched- up, empty beer can lying wasted and used in the grass — a symbol of Sat- urday night’s activities.

Okay, so it was just a beer can; ugly but not too prominent. Yet as my walk down Middle Path contin- ued so did the sightings of beer cans. It was like my stroll turned into a safari of empty Pabst Blue Rib- bons.

I wasn’t the only one noticing the careless dis- play either. Prospective students touring with

their parents were also in- ferring what they could of the previous night’s hap- penings on campus. What could they be thinking at the sight of sacred Middle Path in such an unkempt manner?

Well, in the words of one parent, “Hmph. They don’t even have good beer.”

Every prospective stu- dent should gauge some sort of idea about how we spend our weekend nights, right? In fact, let’s just flaunt it in their faces! Great idea, everyone, no wonder our yearly appli- cant pool continues to in- crease.

Yep, Kenyon. Pat your- self on the back, you classy devil.

In all seriousness, our leftover beer cans should not be one of the first items prospective students see when they exit Ran- som to begin a tour.

Many people have oth- er priorities when trying to return to their dorms in the wee hours of the morning after a night of parties, but they should be able to properly dispose of their trash instead of strewing it along Middle Path. If we’re capable of getting into a school like Kenyon, then we should also be capable of discern- ing a trash can from one of the Middle Path benches, as well as placing our gar- bage in the correct recep- tacle accordingly.

The groundskeepers at Kenyon work hard to make and keep our cam- pus worthy of the “top- 10 prettiest college cam- puses” rankings found in journals and magazines. They shouldn’t be clean- ing up after us in addition to the work they already do. Throwing away our own trash is a simple way we can help them.

I’m not trying to dis- courage anyone from do- ing what he or she wants to do on the weekends. I am, however, suggesting that we be respectful of Kenyon’s campus, the staff and visitors. No one wants to look at used beer cans nestled in the grass as she saunters down Middle Path.

Throwing our trash away helps Kenyon look like the picturesque college it really is and also shows that it has students who care how they and their college is presented.

Hannah Leidy ’18, is undeclared from Eliza- beth City, N.C. She can be reached at leidyh@kenyon.