The union cubbies are not the place to offer baked goods. Courtesy | Unsplash
Every Hillsdale student remembers the first time he or she saw the hallway outside the dining hall strewn with backpacks. It was a rare sight to see personal items left unattended with the expectation that no one would steal them. It was the Honor Code in action, the tour guides said.
The tradition still stands. We’ve all left our belongings in the cubbies as we grabbed a meal and found our things intact when we returned. But what used to be a temporary safe haven for coats, hats, scarves, and book bags has now become an extension of personal bookshelves and closets.
The union cubbies are great for stashing belongings during a meal. They are not, as they have become in recent weeks, storage units.
Nor are they venues to distribute goods. Last month, as I made one of my three weekly pilgrimages to the dining hall (I’m a senior, what can I say), I noticed something different — or rather, I smelled it.
That’s when I saw a pan of crusty-looking brownies with a paper towel draped across the top, the words, “Free, take one!” written with an almost-dry Sharpie. A nearby cubby was stuffed with textbooks, and another had a teapot and several teacups covered in a slight layer of dust (and as of this week, are still in the same spot and have collected more dust).
The collection has grown to include several cubbies of board games, a bag of Lucky Charms, several tumblers, and a bluetooth speaker in various other cubbies, among other things.
Leaving personal belongings for extended periods of time is not “respectful of the rights of others,” as all Hillsdale students pledged as freshmen. The tradition of leaving personal items during meals is supposed to reflect the student body’s pursuit of self-government. Instead, it’s become a cesspool of irresponsibility.
Not only is it disrespectful, it’s disgusting. It needs to stop.
The union cubbies are not the place to offer baked goods. While it’s a thoughtful gesture, the dorm kitchen is a better location. Similarly, stashing leftover food — whether it’s bowls of pasta, boxes of biscuits, or containers of cereal — is also unacceptable.
Neither are these shelves meant to be personal bookshelves for textbooks. Ninety-eight percent of the student body has figured out how to use a backpack by now. The other 2% should catch up.
Fellow students, professors and staff, and prospective families are weirded out by your tea set and confused by the 200 pounds of books left to collect dust on the shelf. And no one wants to see or smell days-old brownies, either.
There are two solutions to this problem, and one sits at the top of the union stairs. It’s called the lost-and-found. The second: leaving personal belongings in the dorm.
Self-government in practice includes keeping one’s life in order. Leaving the union cubbies full of junk for days on end is not reflective of that virtue.
Tayte Christensen is a senior studying history.
