I’m quite sure dumping a large jar of mayonnaise in a dorm hallway seemed hilarious to a bunch of college students at the time, as did breaking exit signs and other drunken pranks.

They weren’t laughing for long, though, before the University of Maryland folks came up with a solution to curb the alcohol-induced messes and vandalism that seemed to plague this particular wing of the campus dorm: They temporarily cut off housekeeping and janitorial services -- just long enough for the garbage and debris to really pile up, and for the guys to get so grossed out that they actually considered cleaning it themselves.

It only took two weeks for things to get so bad that both sides called a truce. But the resident hall coordinators believe they got the students’ attention.

Would this type of extreme non-intervention work for K-12 schools dealing with vandalism? It would be a big risk -- it would certainly make news and divide the community, not to mention the many health and safety concerns. But this was a targeted, creative effort that proved that it is actually possible to make an impact on messy teenagers.

In my days at U-Md., I was a party to similar kinds of pranks and gross consequences of too much fun (damaging exit signs and other property is another story). Frankly, those are some of my favorite memories. But once we all sort of grew up and saw the consequences -- and had to clean up ourselves -- it made for a good learning experience.

I just wish all those disgruntled housekeepers, custodians, and landlords could see my friends now -- most are spending their days cleaning up after their own children.

Joetta Sack-Min, Associate Editor