I began investigating this piece wholeheartedly. I scoured the De Anza College campus in search of piling trash, overflowing cans and rolling trash bags. Fortunately (or, perhaps unfortunately for me), none of the like were to be found.

“Sometimes you’ll see trash here and there, but it’s not like the campus is dirty,” said business major Andy Nguyen.

Under recent financial restriction, the maintenance crew in charge of De Anza’s cleanliness upkeep has taken a hit. The custodial staff to student ratio is not sufficient to warrant the kind of cleanliness to maintain the De Anza campus.

When put into perspective, the campus has an over-arching feel of pristine spotlessness. When told about the small janitorial team needed to maintain the nearly 112 acre community college, students seemed surprised.

“The campus is so clean,” said art major Samantha Johnson. “We should thank them more often for everything they do here.”

The Environmental Sustainability Committee agrees that the power of a clean campus is far-reaching. Not only can it clear the campus, it can liberate a student’s mind.

According to ESC member Nevin Sarina, the amount of trash isn’t important, but rather the kind of trash. Some plastics, he said, aren’t as biodegradable so they stay on the ground longer and the natural process to decomposition is extended.

So in order to promote the ESC’s “Green Initiative” and their philosophies about trash on campus, a clean-up day was held on Friday for students and faculty to pick up the garbage around De Anza.

Although there is a general cleanliness, the litterbugging population of De Anza still showcases a strong presence. The smoking population still riddles various campus locales. While now sequestered to five locations around campus, the nicotine-stick remnants are still a problem.

“I always pass by the hills right near [parking lot B] and there’s like half-dirt, half-cigarettes on the ground,” said English major Quoc Nguyen.

It’s a simple concept: put your butts in the trash. The snack wrappers, plastic cups and discarded papers also should make it there. 

De Anza seems to have a “monkey-see, monkey-do” attitude toward this type of trash. If 180 butts are on the ground, what will number 181 do? But with that mentality, 181 becomes 300, then 500. It’s a snowballing logic with no reasonable end. Throw your trash (cigarette or otherwise) away. We’re not nine and De Anza isn’t a bedroom.

Dry land is not the only place De Anza College’s trash is found on campus. A plastic soda bottle bobs up and down in the Sunken Garden fountain. (William Ferguson/LA VOZ WEEKLY)