Please and thank you, treat others how you want to be treated and respect those around you. These are all lesson taught to us as children. Specific Marquette University lessons include Cura Personalis and Be the Difference. While these principles are vital to our success in life, lately, it seems that people aren’t always upholding these values around campus.

As a student at Marquette for the last three years and a university employee, I have engaged with students in different areas on a daily basis. I’ve noticed that some students fail to respect working classmates.

We have all had or known someone who has had jobs that aren’t the most enjoyable but are necessary in order to make our way through college – busing tables, working in a dining hall or having a desk job. By no means are they the most glamorous positions, yet some people have no choice but to work them. It can be as simple as leaving a mess around the dining hall for others to clean up or taking your frustration out on an employee for enforcing a policy. Dining hall workers are already busy enough ensuring the food is ready and the place is clean so you can have an enjoyable experience. Why add more work for them simply because you did not clean up the mess you made? Desk receptionists and resident assistants are put in place to assist students and ensure their safety. So why do people argue and take their frustration out on them simply because they enforced a rule?

What some students fail to realize, though, is that it is our jobs as employees to enforce policies. We do not make the rules. Instead, we agreed to uphold the policies when we were hired.

The lack of respect extends further to the popular “Marquette Confessions” Facebook page. Day in and day out, students anonymously post thoughts critical of other students. Race, sexuality, political perspective and even major are just a few of the most common topics criticized.

Don’t get me wrong, there are many heartwarming moments that take place here at Marquette. The community – past and present – is one to be reckoned with. I bleed blue and gold, love this school with every fiber in my body and brag about it when people ask where I go and what I study. But what would make this university even better is if students supported one another more than they criticized them. Somebody once told me, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

We moved away from home and became independent when we came to college. There isn’t always going to be someone there to clean up after us, we won’t always agree with the policies in place or actions of others. But what people need to remember is that the atmosphere and policies that Marquette embodies are what make this place so unique. So care for the whole person, Be The Difference and just don’t forget to respect those around you.