Aren’t You Tired of Walking Around CSI’s Poop-Infested Campus?

Yet another semester, the College of Staten Island students are greeted back with animal feces left behind on the college’s campus by Staten Island’s wildlife.

By: Hana Abdelrehim

Headphones in, favorite song rewinding, and mind preparing for the academic day while boarding the S93, driven smoothly through the largest New York City college site. Approaching the last stop, building 1A of the College of Staten Island campus, dozens of students exit the bus in a hurry – some, perhaps, late to class, others rushing to arrive early, and the rest dazing off into the 204-acre rural landscape. Suddenly, a gushy feeling under your brand-new Nike sneakers, that you specifically purchased for the new semester, left you in shocking disgust. Yes, deer poop, turkey poop, squirrel poop, and whatever other urban, wild animal you can think of, their poop as well, lying unbothered all around the campus’ grounds. 

Ranking number 3, nationally by Forbes, “among colleges that deliver high bang for tuition buck,” with a prestigious nursing program in the NYC metro area, as well as named number 2 military-friendly, let us not welcome back its students this Fall semester with the same scenery that CSI students, including myself, have been witnessing these past years. It is not exactly a site I want to see, as I am marching across campus head down, dodging the strong winds of Staten Island during the fall and winter season. I, as well as nearly 14,000 students, should not need to worry about stepping in animal feces while making our way to class.

With the efforts of our CSI Campus Planning Faculty, students have been alerted of cooling modifications to reduce energy consumptions, walkway renovations to replace concrete pavements throughout the campus, and building renovations “…to refresh the appearance of our buildings post pandemic…”. Students and staff are even invited to participate in an annual Campus Clean-Up, as notified through CUNY emails. And yet, still, nothing is being done to improve the looks of the grounds we continue to walk on. 

The CSI Office of Sustainable Community Planning said, “A messy environment is a distraction to students, and can also impact their health by allowing the spread of germs…By keeping your campus clean you’re helping create a positive learning environment for students.”