Seagulls present Nuisance at Lunch

SHANNON HO
Staff Writer

After the lunch bell rings, you may notice a new addition on campus as students walk to their fifth period—the flock of seagulls circling above.

They watch curiously while students enjoy their lunch and then swoop down without warning. The reason as to why they are there brings up questions.

“It’s definitely the lunches that kids just leave lying around. The seagulls wait until everyone’s finished, and then they just come down in large groups and eat whatever is on the floor,” said junior Michelle Tham.

Trash left lying around on the tables and floor is bound to attract forms of wildlife, and in this case, the birds fly in to feast on the leftovers.

Lately the excess trash after lunch has been causing many problems at AHS.

“The seagulls come based upon the smell of the food on our campus. If the food is being left out in the open and is spread all over, it will definitely attract the birds,” said Assistant Principal of Business and Activities Jeremy Infranca.

A recurring problem at AHS is that many students simply leave their unfinished lunches out in the open and do not discard of them properly.

The problem is most noticeable after lunch at the Quad and on Third Street.

“Cleanliness is something that could always be better. We have four adults assigned for lunch clean- up and they do a fantastic job, but with over 3,000 students, cooperation is crucial,” said Infranca.

Students also need to be aware that leaving food outside of the trash cans actually makes keeping the school clean a far more tedious job for the custodial staff.

“Not only will they have to pick up all the excess food, wrappers and trays, but they might have to spend more time cleaning up after the seagulls,” said Tham.

The food that doesn’t go in the trash cans also ends up as litter underneath student’s shoes and trailed all over campus.

As a result, administration is currently considering limiting areas where students are allowed to bring their food in an attempt to control the situation.

“I hope students take pride in the place where they spend the majority of their time away from home. We all want this to be a beautiful campus,” said Infranca.

The current trash situation will only improve once students learn to appreciate their campus and take the time to dispose of their trash properly.

According to Infranca, this would be the most effective way to end the problem of intrusive wildlife. Similarly, students also agree that cooperation is key to sanitation.

“I think students really should care about how their campus looks,” said junior Jamie Nguyen.