The school has seen a growing trend in the lack of trash disposal and campus cleanliness among students, according to Student Discipline and Attendance Coordinator Gabriel Preciado. Preciado sent out an email on Dec. 4 addressing the student body after the student lounge was closed for a day and a lunch table on the Quad was restricted for a week.
Preciado said the school is worried about the lack of student care in upholding the tidiness of the campus.
“There is a growing concern for the cleanliness of our campus following breaks and lunch periods,” Preciado said . “Our facilities team’s mission is to provide an organized, orderly and pristine academic environment for all of us so that we may all excel at our calling and future endeavors. We expect that you perform what is not only required but also act upon what is a sensible and honorable character for mature Upper School students.”
Preciado said he will assess the school environment and ban other areas with a constant accumulation of waste, following the ban of a lunch table on the Quad.
“I will monitor the campus for tidiness to ensure we keep to task,” Preciado said. “Areas left unkept may be sectioned off for a time, and students who are neglectful in fulfilling this responsibility may be given tasks to help maintain the campus in good shape.”
Pearl Gatins ’25, who often sits at the table on the Quad that was banned, said she is ambivalent towards the limitation Preciado placed because she did not see much change after the table’s restriction was lifted, but understands his intention.
“I think it’s a bit unnecessary,” Gatins said. “We still hang out around that area so I feel the issue that Preciado is trying to address doesn’t necessarily correspond with where we eat our food, but how we clean up after ourselves. But, I will give him credit, because I also don’t know how to fix this ongoing issue as it’s not specific to just that one table.”
Nola Foran ’26 said she agrees with Preciado’s decision to limit access to areas on campus because she believes students should take responsibility for keeping the school clean.
“[Preciado’s] measures are justified because the state of those tables were disgusting,” Foran said. “It’s not just about the negative effect it has on our school environment, but it also speaks to the character of the students who don’t clean up after themselves.”
Maggie Koo ’26 said she does not appreciate the trash at the school and wishes the situation was taken under control.
“It’s troubling to look around and notice how much trash is on the Quad, so I understand where Preciado is coming from,” Koo said. “I hope it improves because a clean campus is nicer for everyone.”
