When walking into a hospital, a person should be genuinely concerned if there is dust, dirt and trash all over the place.

This expectation should be no different in a place where students and teachers spend seven hours a day, at school.

With the custodial staff being cut short, everyone needs to do their part in keeping the school clean.

If not, our classrooms will be covered with the edges of spiral notebook paper, making it look like a blizzard came through. And, food crumbs can attract many different kinds of creatures, mice and bugs being the prime examples.

Students can recycle papers they don’t need, pick up trash that is under their desk, and even do the unthinkable, pick up trash that isn’t theirs. Especially, they should work to not make a mess when eating, or they could simply not eat in classrooms.

The fact is that this situation is more serious than most of us think.

Trash is distracting. If a work area is cluttered or dirty, it can cause negative effects to productivity.

One key solution to the problem is the Student Volunteers Class, with Caleb Stoppel, teacher, who help pick up trash, fourth hour, as long as it is sitting outside classroom doors. Classes can be clean, as long as this becomes a routine for teachers and students, but it can only work if a majority of people do their part.

Making our school as clean as a hospital is unnecessary, but we do need to pitch in and keep the building clean and livable.