It’s safe to say that most school days at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) go by without much unusual activity or great disruption, which has led me to conclude that either most Foothill Tech students are level-headed human beings, or that there simply exists an unsaid social contract that everyone mostly adheres to when on campus.

In accordance with this contract, students agree to always and never do certain things: tie your shoes so you don’t trip over them, zip up your backpack and remind others when theirs are unzipped, don’t say or do things that would justly place you in the school office or in the back of a squad car, etc. However, for some reason, throwing away your own trash properly seems to be a hit or miss on this list for many students.

Every morning and afternoon as I walk to either journalism or Advanced Placement (AP) United States Government and Politics, I can’t help but notice the eye-level red streak on the pale stucco wall of the I-Pod. Rather than an intentional design choice in the school’s red and black color scheme, this was the aftermath of a childish gag where someone smeared food on the wall.

The hallways around Foothill Tech are relatively clean and clear of litter in the mornings, but trash is quick to accumulate following nutrition and lunch. In the quad, smaller fragments of trash are commonly found underfoot, neglected to be thrown away properly in the first place. Seeing food on the walls and half-finished lunch trays left astray on school benches is a disappointing sight and incredibly unfair to the custodial staff that stay before and after school hours for campus maintenance.

Just prior to the week of Jan. 22, 2024, Foothill Tech received notice from the City of Ventura, Calif., that their disposed food waste on campus is not being properly separated from other garbage materials into the appropriate bins, indicating a clear disregard of waste etiquette.

Yes, sometimes the afternoon slog to fifth and sixth period classes makes the nearest trash can a labored destination, but that is certainly no reason to forget to throw away lunch trays and plastic wrappers, or to let drink cartons leak on the hallway floors. I am also unsure of what category of humor wasting food or trashing shared spaces would be, but I’m quite positive that there are other ways to bust boredom and have fun during lunch without terrorizing the custodial staff.

Having spent my high school career at Foothill Tech, which I have become well-aware of as a much smaller school than others, I’ve found great things to be proud of and to appreciate about our small campus, like the unique programs and wonderful people. Therefore, it would be considerably disappointing to add this trash tribulation to my high school recollection.