This week, Temple University’s administrators said once again they’re working to reduce the amount of trash off campus to improve community relations before taking another step toward building an on-campus stadium.
It’s time for students to own up to the fact that we produce a lot of the trash community residents are complaining about — especially the ones who support Temple’s plans to build an on-campus stadium at Broad and Norris streets. If you want the university to build a stadium, then you also have to want to make sure that all residents’ concerns are addressed, and step up to be a part of that solution.
The university is taking concrete steps to respond to this issue by hiring companies to collect the excessive trash around Main Campus. This means administrators understand students’ involvement in the heaps of trash littered around North Philadelphia.
Students must stop complaining about how “dirty” North Philadelphia is and examine why the sidewalks are almost impassable the week before classes start — it’s because students are a main source of trash. The university’s administration knows that, and it is finally owning up to it.
We need to take a serious look at our neighbors’ concerns, like the beer bottles on the sidewalks after weekend parties end or the bags of trash dropped on the sidewalk outside students’ apartments days before the city comes by to pick them up.
While Temple is a permanent institution in North Philadelphia, its students are transient. We have a responsibility to respect our temporary home for the community residents who have lived here long before we arrived and will be here long after we leave.
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