Like any student, much of my typical weekday is spent on campus. I like it that way. As I walk among the buildings that my parents and their parents attended classes in, I gain a tremendous sense of pride for my university. My pride in Penn State does not stem from our talented football team or numerous fraternities or sororities, though both may be worth writing home about. My pride is a direct result of the aesethetic splendor that is University Park.

Although the ongoing and seemingly never-ending construction is to thank for a daily headache and the occasional dirty sneakers, the new additions to our campus have been worth the annoyance. Brick walkways and bilateral gardens are just a few additions that have created a more "colonial" touch to what we call home nine months out of the year.

As the buildings, vegetation, and history of our campus play an important role in my contentment at Penn State, as I am sure many others, some individuals do not appreciate the same aspects of campus life. Today, exhausted from an eight-hour day on campus, I took time as I walked toward a White Loop to stop to enjoy my surrondings. Though the weather did not aid my contentment, I still enjoyed my break from a non-stop scatterbrained day. That is until I reached my destination.

What may have been inconspicuous to anyone else was overwhelmingly apparent to me, graffitti on a recently added sign. The mere fact that the sign was defaced was not what ultimately bothered me. The fact that our tuition is in part used to fund campus additions, and in a matter of thinking a young individual defaced a sign he paid for, was not what bothered me either. Money aside, college is what is looked upon as preparing an individual for the world at large, a time to grow up. But the selfishness that the individual or individuals portrayed by not realizing that their acts affect their fellow students is what bothered me.

While I'm at it, though the newspapers on campus may be free, try throwing them in the proper receptacle when you are done with them. The lecture halls located in Thomas and Forum buildings are consistently polluted with discarded periodicals. During distemperant weather, I can almost predict the number of students that will stumble or fall upon a menagrie of soaken Collegians, New York Times or USA Todays.

Not to mention that it's been stastically proven a cleaner work environment provides better learning capabilities.

Though at times I myself have been guilty of being too lazy to discard my finished cigarette in the receptacles provided, after taking a glance at the butts lining the curb throughout the campus, a feeling of guilt began to emerge near the end of each cigarette. While an addition of one butt in a sea of thousands may not appear to aid any cause, it's certainly not going to contribute to the mess.

So, for all you Tom, Dick, and Harry's (I mean that figuratively, not in a sexist fashion), don't deface school property, don't litter and use the next four to five years to mature and expand your mind. And while you are here, take some pride in your school. Although there may not be a principal to enforce rules and regulations, set consequences and govern your actions.

There are 40,000 other students who enjoy a clean environment.