There is an old saying: “Perception is reality.” At Colorado Mesa University, it is up to the student body to control how the surrounding community perceives CMU. It is a weighty responsibility to project a clean image because it controls both the ease with which we operate in our surrounding environment as well as the opportunity to enhance partnerships.
A clean image can mean many things, including moral actions and remaining law-abiding citizens. The Criterion would love for all students to project a clean image in those areas and all other ways “clean image” can be interpreted. In this specific case, however, we are being literal rather than figurative.
Individuals may dispute the saying “cleanliness is next to godliness,” but it’s the meaning of the saying rather than a religious statement that we are making. Cleanliness creates the perception that Mavericks care enough about their environment to take the few seconds it takes to put their trash in an appropriate receptacle.
When trash is left lying around, it may create the idea within our surrounding community that CMU students are apathetic and lazy; treating the world as their trash can because maintaining a clean environment takes too much effort.
That perception is inaccurate about the majority of the students here. Most Mavericks are responsible individuals that care as much about the environment as they do their own studies. Sadly, though, that message has the ability to be overshadowed by a few slovenly individuals that can’t be bothered to give the minimal effort required to keep a clean environment.
As simple as it is, our ability to pick up after ourselves has a big impact on perception, and we can’t allow a few individuals to negatively impact the way community members look at CMU and the students that go here.
This extends beyond the campus itself. Many students live in neighborhoods surrounding the university. While it may not be possible to stop house parties from happening, at the very least, beer cans can be placed in trash bags rather than scattered across the lawn.
The surrounding neighbors all know where the college students reside, and such visual displays do not simply reflect poorly on those individuals. Trash spread around at student domiciles reflects upon the student body as a whole.
The call to action by The Criterion, then, is not only to encourage everyone to pick up after themselves, but to hold others accountable as well. When individuals see their fellow students depositing refuse somewhere other than a trash receptacle, they ought to call them out on it. It is not easy to be reckless with the environment when multiple eyes are drawn to the behavior.
If we hold ourselves and our fellow students accountable for maintaining a clean environment, we can dictate the perception the community has of us. Perception is reality and the reality is that CMU is a clean place with conscientious students.
