I opened my door over the weekend, stepped outside and gagged. Off to the side of my Prospect Street Village A apartment lay a tipped over trashcan. Garbage was strewn everywhere. To the other side, vomit was splattered all over the sidewalk.

It was gross but unfortunately, it’s typical of Georgetown.

Walk through Village A or any college apartment or dorm for that matter, and you’ll see the signs of unrestrained revelry are everywhere. Beer cans, bottles, vomit and the occasional bit of feces and blood cover our campus.

I understand the trash to a certain extent. Students get drunk. They throw up. They forget what they’re doing and throw things everywhere. But that’s no excuse. We don’t allow people to beat others up when they are intoxicated. Why should they be allowed to puke all over the sidewalk?

This topic came into focus for me the night my roommate caught a little freshman peeing on our front door. According to my roommate, the poor kid apologized drunkenly yet profusely with tears in his eyes. My roommate’s a nice guy. He just sent the freshman on his merry little way to urinate on more doors. But looking back on it, perhaps we should have called DPS and taught him a life lesson.

Maybe if students started to get the message that they can’t cause a mess, that disgusting behavior which makes our campus ugly will have consequences, they would think twice before causing such untidiness.

If this were the real world, and not the little bubble Georgetown truly is, the occupants of our apartment might not have been so friendly to that urinating freshman. Likewise, DPS should be unfriendly to students causing a nuisance at Georgetown. Students should get the message that causing a mess is simply unacceptable behavior and it will have serious consequences.

There are other, more altruistic reasons that you should avoid dirtying the campus. If the thought of me cleaning up after your mess doesn’t bring warm tears to your eyes, think of the many workers at the university who are forced to deal with this emphatic disgustingness on a daily basis. A lot of these folks are contract employees working under very tenuous circumstances. They are paid very little to deal with some of the grossest situations imaginable and they really have no choice in the matter.

I’ve heard stories that these employees occasionally stage mini-revolts, refusing to clean perennially disgusting locales like New South until students get a handle on their alcohol intake. I support these workers completely. There is no reason any student should make workers’ lives any harder than they already are.

Many Georgetown students don’t seem to realize how good they have it. They’re going to school at a highly prestigious place, they get their homes essentially cleaned for them and they have a tremendously exciting new freedom. There is no reason they can’t use these opportunities without abusing them.

I’m not opposed to people having a good time, drinking and even vomiting if they have to. But as theoretically mature and responsible adults, we should have respect for our campus and for each other. If you need to drink so much that you’re going to puke, head for the nearest trashcan. If you need to urinate, try to find a toilet or at least a nice bush. Just avoid my front door because the next time we catch someone peeing on it, they won’t get away with it.

Moises Mendoza is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service and Features Editor of THE HOYA.