If you were to have walked around campus on Sunday afternoon of February 28, you might have seen an interesting sight at each dorm: students rushing around shaking rugs, polishing windows, and feverishly wiping a school years’ worth of dust from unreachable places. That evening, after the Courtesy Banquet, would be the much-anticipated Open House.

This yearly tradition is not only a great opportunity for spring cleaning and visiting dorm rooms, but also a demonstration of how cleanliness in personal space is an aspect of true courtesy. Getting into the spirit of things, the academy and college students went all-out to present sparkling dorm rooms for the visiting opposite gender.

“It was really fun and interesting to see other people’s rooms,” was the main consensus among the college students. However, a few went beyond the aspects of fun and novelty to mention a spiritual lesson learned during the activity.

“It makes me think of how we prepare for Sabbath,” says David Daum, a media senior. “You know, we spend so much time to get our rooms ready for visitors, but what about on Fridays when we’re getting ready for God? Do we put the same amount of effort into our rooms then?”

Although we had fun, we hope to remember the lesson of cleanliness as a courtesy, not only to our friends but also to the Lord.