The other day when I arrived at work, I entered the lab to check up on the status of equipment, materials, etc. for the students and found the lab in disarray. As if the door being unlocked with iBooks, microscopes, and other items thereby unsecured against whomever might desire one was not enough, I found materials expended and waste inappropriately discarded. Last week, I sent an email around asking them to correct these problems. Apparently nobody listened.
Normally, it falls to professors to watch the students clean up before they leave. Having myself taught, I know that sounds easier than it is. As you work, they move you around the room, answering questions and monitoring progress, and so you’re not there to micromanage their every action. However, every waste receptacle is labeled (assuming they are literate enough to read the signs), and university policy is quite clear: if you leave the lab dirty, be prepared to lose points.
Someone suggested that, since I’ve already reminded and admonished the professors to take proper care of waste, I leave the mess. The problem with that is that while I am prepared to deal with the eventualities of glass in the drain and in the regular garbage, biohazard waste not properly disposed of, and a general mess on the table, it gives me no license to subject the students to the dangers of lacerations and blood borne pathogens occasioned by slipshod waste management. If I leave the labs in disarray and the students complain, university management will write me up. The buck stops with me.
This type of dutiful responsibility comes naturally to me, both as a function of my character and as a result of my employ. While working for UPS in college, I ended up in a dubious place of honor at the very end of the conveyor belt. Practically, this implied that all of the missed picks, missorts, etc. came to my work area and clogged up the space allotted to me for my work until someone could haul them away. Even more, this necessitated that I handle many more packages than I ought because I dealt with many never intended to come anywhere near me. With my large volume, I sometimes fell behind due to this phenomenon, which prevented me from getting my work done when other people aren’t doing theirs.
For all this, I received nothing but verbal gratitude. I didn’t do it for rewards or better pay or a special parking spot. I did it because long ago I swore an oath on my honor to do my duty to God and Country. Someone must take responsibility, and if other people abdicate it, oftentimes I end up footing the bill.
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