If you’ve had the displeasure of walking through the courtyard anytime since the start of April, you have encountered the goose nested upon her eggs and potentially the male defending the nest. The courtyard is a major walkway for those who have classes on either side of the commons and these geese have made walking through there much harder. The geese have been in the courtyard for over a month and the school has done nothing to remove these terrors. Instead, they’ve encouraged the geese by providing a mug of water. The school’s actions are not only harming the student body but the geese as well.
You probably know someone who has been accosted and/or assaulted by the goose, as I’ve heard countless stories and even seen with my own eyes people get hissed at, chased, and even bit by the goose. Now, admittedly, some of those incidents were student-caused as some people antagonize the goose. However, this wouldn’t happen if the goose was removed from our courtyard, because people can’t antagonize and be hurt by something that isn’t there. Even North Park’s own Mrs. Lee was harassed by one of the geese on her way home. The amount of harm these geese have caused and the fact North Park has done nothing to stop it is inexcusable.
As mentioned previously, students are harassing the geese. Because of their location in a central walkway between classes the geese have to endure repeated parades of harassment as tens of students cross in front multiple times a day. I’ve seen people spit on, startle, and verbally harass the geese. Keeping the geese there is harmful towards the geese, as it’s only a matter of time before someone smashes the eggs, or is stupid enough to physically attack the geese. Why is North Park letting the geese be harmed by keeping them in the courtyard?
Why are the geese here and what can we do to prevent this happening again? The geese are here because North Park is letting them be here, and now it’s too late to do anything about it. despite the harm it causes the student body and geese themselves. I get why; it’s a human response to believe animals should live wherever they want. However, we need to accept that we have made environments unsuited for wild animals and the school courtyard is one of them. But now there’s nothing we can do, as the law protects geese nests from harm. The only thing we can do is prevent the geese from returning again, and to do so we need to accept that the geese nesting in North Park are bad for North Park and bad for the geese.
THE NORTH STAR 