Recently, my email inbox has been filled by the RD of Dom emailing us residents about the conditions of the restrooms, which have drastically deteriorated. Someone has defecated in the showers. Yes, defecated. Now, under normal circumstances, the perpetrator would be found out, but it is what it is.  

This along with a few other incidents, contributes to the filthiness of Dom. Dominic Hall has had the dirty-Dom moniker for generations of students. 

To one classmate, the dirtiness of Dom is attributable to the fact that “We have 300 dudes under one roof, which makes it inevitable that it will be a certain way.” This is true, and having people with different habits and routines living together can create gaps in cleanliness. Moreover, without external pressure to keep clean (like one might receive from parents), people slack off. When living with our parents or guardians, we build habits that make sure we have a clean space and that we do not end up sick. This would be things such as washing hands, cleaning spaces and keeping the bathroom clean. Unlike home, it is too easy to decide that a mess is someone else’s problem.

Another classmate pointed out that “Every weekend there tends to be parties, which usually leads to people getting sick in the bathroom that night or the next morning.” Parties drive much of the disgustingness, as those who overimbibe end up projecting some of their poor decisions in, on, and around toilets and sinks. As a result, it tends to be that there are often sinks with beer cans or toilets with vomit that are left until Monday, because it is a weekend. Students should be aware of that and try to be more willing to clean up to a certain level. Of course, it is harder to clean up a space if everyone is throwing up, but that is an issue of drinking alcohol and less of general cleanliness.  

As a whole, responsibility in terms of general cleanliness should be promoted through Dominic Hall. People ought to be more willing to keep and maintain a space that they would like to live in. At the same time, it would not be fruitful to be unrealistic about college freshman guys and cleanliness. We’re pigs, but hopefully that changes with time.