Environmental Prefects

Memory blurs this particular aspect of TT area life. I can't rightly recall much about the environmental prefect, partly perhaps because the phenomenon largely died off as me and my friends hit senior status in the TT area, which meant we were less badgered by the over-zealous seventh grader that got his new prefect badge.

The environmental prefect was in charge of garbage. You heard me. Garbage. Just like most of the Student Life Organisation, they handled garbage (in one form or another) to achieve the SLO's primary goal: to alleviate the financial burden of the school. In this case, to reduce the need of, or possibly eliminate, cleaners.

Breaks and Lunchtimes would take their toll on the school campus, with students littering their numerous sandwich wrappings, juice cartons and other such superfluous paraphernalia, and so the environmental prefect's duty was to make sure people didn't litter. They were "insiders," plain-clothed policemen, perhaps. If anybody littered the prefect came down on them like a locust.

The trick, however, was to see someone commit the crime, which is, needless to say, an extremely difficult and tedious task because it requires constant observation. On some occassions, the environment prefect would probably pass by a group of people sitting around, eating and come back a while later when they're done and see sandwich wrappers and juice cartons on the floor. What would follow is an extremely entertaining conversation between the prefect and his victim, who is, in most cases, guilty of littering:

"Pick that up."
"What?"
"Pick that up."
"It's not mine."
"I don't care, just pick it up and throw it in the trash bin."
"No."
"What?"
"I said no!"
"You have to."
"Why?"
"Because I'm a prefect, and I'm telling you to."
"I don't care what you are, I'm not picking up trash. It's not mine."
"I'll report you."
"Go ahead."

Usually nobody got reported. I don't think even the SLA took the whole idea very seriously. It was probably just a "shot in the dark" attempt, some new guy probably came up with the bright idea and they tried it and figured it just didn't work, but didn't have the heart to remove it, with all the seventh graders hanging on the bell of their office all day, wanting a job.

And usually, the prospective garbage-man that the prefects victimized were normally not responsible for the specific piece of garbage the prefect wanted in the trash can, but rest assured, some piece of garbage lying around there was his. Litter doesn't come from nowhere.

As my time in that school wore on, I could see some of the environmental prefects give up on the whole get-students-to-clean-up-after-themselves approach. I vividly remember one of my very good friends who happened to be head of the Chess Club and also a "senior" environmental prefect, going around picking stuff up. Not full-time, like a cleaner, but as he walked around the TT area, just notice a wrapper for the straw that came with the usual Al-Ain Orange Drink or Mango Drink, pick it up and chuck it.

I suppose in popular perception, environmental prefects were the bottom of the food chain at school. That would probably be why, for a short while, I was one myself, though I never had any "conversations," and generally did a poor job of it. I just needed the points.