When I was walking to class last Tuesday, I noticed something in the creek by Reavis and DuSable halls – a nice, green bike.

This got me thinking: Some people don’t seem to care about others’ property or their surroundings.

That bike’s final resting place surely wasn’t where the owner originally intended it to be. The bike probably ended up there because somebody probably stole it.

This bike could have been a student’s primary mode of transportation on campus.
Of course, it’s not just property that needs to be respected – it can also be other people.

I’ve been at parties where, when someone passed out, there was little concern with the person’s health. The situation was seen as entertainment. Or, when a friend vomits into somebody else’s lawn and his friends only try and cover it up.

“I oftentimes see people vomiting on somebody’s lawn,” said senior music major Jackie Fischer. “I also see drunk people relieving themselves in somebody else’s lawn, and that is just disrespectful to the property owner,” Fischer said.

Incidents of property damage don’t always occur when people are drunk, but they can be more likely, since your inhibitions are lowered.

People might believe that they can just dump whatever they stole – a bike, perhaps – into an alley or a creek and get away with it, using being drunk as an excuse.

Junior finance major David Davis says he’s seen belligerent people damaging others’ property.

“There’s not much I can do about it, but if I saw somebody damaging my car or stealing my bike, I would try and do something,” said Davis.

Though it’s not always a good idea to intervene in those situations, it’s easy to understand where Davis’ anger would come from.

Destroyed property often leaves the original owner to deal with and pay for the damages.

The damage doesn’t have to be serious to be just as frustrating.
Dinging someone’s car while carelessly parking is something that might seem easy to get away with.

However, it will often leave the owner stuck with potential repairs, and for most college students, any car repair is a financial stress.

“Whenever I am coming home on the weekends, I see dings on my car from drunk people trying to back out of their parking spot,” Fischer said.

Whether done while drunk or not, what these incidents boil down to is respect.

There’s no reason to destroy other people’s property.
Consider where you would be if your bike ended up in a ditch, or your car lost its bumper.

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