The cafeteria turns into an aftermath of a war zone created by students and their lunches. Food, napkins, water, and all kinds of trash meet each other on the tables and floors.

Arriving to your lunch table and seeing a mess is extremely unpleasant and so is feeling the need to clean up another person’s mess so you can feel comfortable to sit and eat.

A question was asked to 15 students asking them to rate the state of the cafeteria from 1 to 10, 1 being the messiest and 10 being the cleanest. The majority of the students went with either 5 or 6, the lowest number was a 2 and the highest was an 8.

These numbers do show that the cafeteria isn’t a terrible mess, but it could still be a lot cleaner.

Students were also asked their opinion on if students should clean up after themselves as well as why some students feel that they are not responsible for the messes they make.

Emily Cowser, a sophomore, said, “Yes, they only think about themselves,” and Daryn Perry, a junior, said, “They don’t live here; they just don’t really care.”

The final question asked was if any actions should be put in place to keep the cafeteria clean, and if they had ideas for any changes the school could make. All the students asked believed something should be done to keep the cafeteria clean but couldn’t think of ideas on the spot.

Dallas Jones, a sophomore, said, “Before the bell rings, the officers should make sure the students clean up after themselves.”

Teachers were also asked the same questions, and they responded in the same way. The ratings were in the same range anywhere from 2 to 8. All the teachers said that students were being lazy when asked why some students don’t clean up after themselves.

When asked the final question, the responses started to show more originality. One teacher, Mrs. Conrad, suggested, “For the last moments of class, students will be required to clean up. If they don’t clean up, they shall be held until they do clean up. And it would be considered an unexcused tardy.”

Another teacher, Mrs. Dowling said, “There needs to be a consequence for students who don’t clean up after themselves. For instance, they need to clean up the cafeteria or possibly clean off trays.”

Clearly, students can do a lot more to keep the cafeteria clean.