Trash & tailgating: one man's trash is another man's . . .

by Ginny Borcherdt

No MSU student’s life would be complete without the chance to swim through the trash after tailgating. And if anyone actually wanted to do just that, they probably could.

Partying from the early hours of the morning to game time can result in a lot of shit on the ground. Newspapers, empty cases of beer, plastic jello shot glasses. All are barely recognizable aftery they have been pressed into the ground. Mix in a little rain and you got fresh scum soup. Looks delicious, doesn’t it?

Oh, and don’t you forget the ciggy butts. They are part of this nasty equation of student laziness and apathy toward cleaning up after one’s self.

It’s not all bad though. Take away the trash and you have a fun mix of people to party, dance and be merry with. Mix in more alcohol and then you’ll get some ridiculous pick-up lines and the occasional heart-to-heart conversation where you always just connect with that person. You just connect, man.

Consider the three types of people at the tailgates . Some are there to get trashed (in terms of alcohol consumption, not litter), some to regulate and others to make some cash from the cans carelessly thrown to the ground. This is the scene on the tennis courts across from Wilson Hall before game time. Students, adults, police officers and can collectors create the atmosphere where a sober person might easily feel a wee-bit overwhelmed. In the hubbub of activity, it’s no wonder things get absentmindedly tossed to the ground, sometimes within feet of the nearest trashcan. Come on, guys, would it really hurt to make the extra effort and toss it into the plastic can clearly marked “For Trash”?  

Some trash, however, is more than welcomed. It’s the two C’s baby: Coolers and Cans. Jason says that he loves to see coolers left behind. He proudly boasts a collection of six coolers he’s accumulated over the years. They’re pretty easy to take when people, well, get drunk and forget them. This, by the way, is an awesome idea. Who doesn’t like free stuff? Jason also offered the timeless quote that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

That quote resonates at Spartan tailgates since the number of cans with their 10-cent deposit left behind could equal a trip to Germany. Can collector Melanie Goodman and her high school-aged daughter Sam hope it will do just that. Sam wants to go to Germany as an exchange student and the trips costs about $1000. Melanie says those cans help her daughter get one step closer to having an international experience of a lifetime. Melanie said that, a couple years back, she raked in $300 during one game. Talk about quick cash.

How do the students respond to people collecting cans? Two of Sam’s friends, Brandon and Rachael, were helping the mother and daughter collect the booty. They said students are intimidating and sometimes hard to ask for cans. One guy even went as far as yelling at them that he only had one can and didn’t want to give it up. Whoa, big guy. After all, it is just a can.

Two teenagers collecting cans on their bikes said kids are usually “pretty nice,” especially the students who don’t want to recycle the cans on their own. And that’s apparent when you see a good ol’ Spartan handing over a used can to a little kid with a smile. Aw, shucks.

An older gentleman (who wished to remain anonymous) agreed.  He said he has been coming to Spartan games for 40 years, first to scalp tickets and now to collect cans. He said the kids had always been police to him. When asked about the trash left after tailgate, he felt that even though the area gets “pretty trashed up,” he felt it gets cleaned up relatively well.

Looking at the field and tennis courts this morning, the older gentleman friend seems to have the story right. There is no trash to be found and barely any remnants of the festival just the day before. Is it the result of paid workers? Probably. Is it because students did the right thing and picked up after themselves? For the majority, not really. One suggestion could be to have more plastic and cardboard recyclable containers around the tailgate, instead of just one located all the way by the stadium.

All in all though, despite the crap all over the ground for a few hours, there is a lot of goodwill and generosity displayed. There was the mother and daughter gathering cans for the young girl's trip. Then there were people collecting returnables just to buy food.

Don’t forget the students either. There is always that one kid who walks the extra ten feet to throw out his empty bag of chips. Now that’s a true act of heroic bravery. That’s my kind of man.