De Anza is blessed with an environmentally natural campus: pristine redwoods and native land animals, chirping birds, scurrying squirrels, an array of wildlife.

But that’s only part of the picture. The other side is far less idyllic: paper and plastic bags, bottles, cans and plastic containers roost in the parking lots, while seagulls circle above the trash-littered ground in search for a snack. Garbage lolls around campus, oblivious to trashcans and recycling bins.

And what about those nasty bathrooms? Paper towels are everywhere, gum is stuck to the floor and toilet seats are splattered with urine. It’s disgusting, but it’s a reality on our campus.

Even though garbage cans are often located within one hundred feet of pedestrians, those who come to De Anza seem too busy to find one.

Volunteer clean-up actions are the exception to the rule of neglect, and regretably only have a limited effect. The Life Renaissance Club spent an afternoon picking up litter but announced at a meeting that compared to the overall situation on campus, picking up litter was “a never-ending story.” Maybe it wouldn’t be if more students cared and did their part. Thousands of pieces of trash are too much for any volunteer group or custodial crew to handle.

We should take pride in our campus and take a moment to throw garbage out the proper way. In elementary school we were taught to “reduce, reuse and recycle.” Disposing and recycling garbage are no-brainers at De Anza.

Our garbage cans and recycling bins appropriately feature a “DA Pride” logo and are located all over campus, inside most classrooms and outside major campus buildings. Cigarette butts should be disposed of in the ashtrays. Bottles should be placed in recycling bins, so the glass can be made into new products.

Those same bottles, smashed and left as remnants in parking lots, cause flat tires and injury to animals.

Instead of pouncing through that muddied water, walking around will spread less sludge on the columns and walls.

Cleanliness is another aspect of respecting diversity on campus. It doesn’t take much to put garbage away properly, but it makes all the difference in the way our campus looks, smells and feels.