The buzz of bees around campus is bittersweet. Without them, our world would cease to exist. With them, comes concerns, but you can help! Cleaning up after yourself might be the key to reducing the swarms. Recently, bees have been buzzing around and inside trash cans on campus and classrooms, as well as circling around students during lunch, crawling on, and eating their food. Some students are allergic to bees, so this is a source of concern. Epi-pens are available at the Health Office just in case.
Students have shown signs of discomfort toward the bees, likely because no one wants to get stung.
I tried to eat my lunch… outside and a bee also wanted to eat my lunch so I had to move locations,”
says Katie C. (VA ‘27).
I’ve never been stung or anything, but they’ve been flying around and crawling on food we’re supposed to be eating,”
says Rochelle W. (CW ‘27).
That’s not cool.”
School administrators say there are solutions to the “bee problem.” In the Weekly Wrap on November 3rd, 2023, CSArts administration issued a statement on the bees, writing:
Our Facilities Team completed an inspection and concluded that there are no active hives on campus. With this in mind, please understand that bees are a vital part of the natural ecosystem, and our campus does experience seasonal fluctuations of their activity throughout the year. The maintenance team is working hard to resolve some of the issues and concerns by increasing clean up on campus, landscaping, and frequently deep cleaning our trash cans, as bees are attracted to these areas.”
As for what students can do to help with the bee problems, admin says,
Students can do their part by cleaning up after themselves and ensuring that their trash goes into the appropriate receptacles.”
Other possible ways to avoid the bees include staying away from the trash cans or using smells that bees don’t like like cloves and peppermint. With work from both the maintenance crew and CSArts students, the bee issues should lesson as we head into colder temperatures and wet weather during the Winter.
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