Trayless Movement at SMC = Epic Fail

Remember when I blogged about how St. Michael's was joining Middlebury, Champlain, much of UVM, and other schools by ditching trays in the dining hall?  Well, never mind.

As announced at a recent Student Association meeting by Secretary of Student Life Gary Levante, and elaborated upon in this Defender/Echo article, the plan to ditch the trays in the Green Mountain Dining Room has been scrapped, and trays are back. Why? Because the cost it took to clean up after messes left behind on tables literally outweighed the amount of money saved by not having to put trays through the washer.

This is one of those things that makes me more than a bit embarrassed to be a St. Michael's student. What is the problem? Were my classmates never taught the most basic of table manners? Are they just savage eaters? Or are people here just so self-absorbed that they can't be bothered to pick up after themselves? If Middlebury and Champlain had no problem going trayless, there's no reason that it should be a problem here. I guess we just have a higher proportion of inconsiderate assholes.

There is good news though. Based on my own completely unscientific observation, it looks like most students here have made the personal decision to stay trayless, even though the option of trays is still present. So there's that. My vitriol is really directed at a relatively small slice of the student body. Though that small slice is still unfathomably lame in my mind. It's hard not to get discouraged about making any progress on the environmental front here when nonsense like this gets in the way.

Worst of all: My hope to take all those unused dining trays and start a tray-sledding club will remain but a pipe dream...