Recent abuse of the yourFellowFalcon umbrella program has demonstrated the University cannot have nice things.

The initiative provided bins of free orange “courtesy umbrellas” for temporary use; the Student Enrollment Communication Center and a group of dedicated students devised the plan.

Bins were located in eight different spots on campus, including Olscamp, the Business Administration building and the Union. These locations were recently noted as the problematic ones.

The umbrella bins are already empty – and it hasn’t even rained yet.

Groups of students nabbed the umbrellas for their personal use within 24 hours of the program’s Friday kickoff, according to yourFellowFalcons representatives.

The BG News staff was skeptical of the program’s proposed success from the beginning. We did not, however, think the program would have trouble immediately.

It’s really disappointing to know the yourFellowFalcons representatives placing the bins on campus were immediately swarmed by people eager for a handout.

Courtesy umbrellas aren’t a new concept – the idea has proven successful in foreign countries, specifically in Europe and Asia.

But at the University, nice things have proven they are destined to fail.

For example, the University once attempted to give away free seat cushions at a football game, according to a former BG News staff member. Rowdy fans resorted to throwing them onto the field instead of actually using them.

Now, dining hall supplies get stolen, dorm room furniture gets destroyed and these infractions come back to haunt students in the form of a tuition raise.

It’s disappointing to see our students misusing items provided for them. If someone was nice enough to provide a service to students, one would think they wouldn’t slap the provider in the face by stealing or destroying that service.

Junior Meredith Hassenrik, an original member of the yourFellowFalcon council, said the council considered umbrella theft a “possibility,” but didn’t think it would happen so quickly, either.

“It’s disappointing, because good intentions were had,” Hassenrik said. “We did a lot to try and protect it, but it didn’t work.”

The group plans to meet Wednesday night to discuss the next step for the umbrella program. Although more umbrellas are available, the group wants to reevaluate its strategy.

“We may need to take a different approach now, but we’re remaining optimistic,” Hassenrik said. “This isn’t what our program is about, and this isn’t what our campus community is about, either.”

In order to fix the problem, we must hold students accountable-apparently holding students to their word isn’t good enough anymore.

To rent an umbrella, students should be required to give their student ID number. If they don’t return the umbrellas, charging them a fee will most likely ensure they are placed back in the appropriate bins.

Students stealing free rental umbrellas completely contradicts the goals of yourFellowFalcon.

YourFellowFalcon works to promote the well-being of University students, but some students prefer to work against their own well-being. A small group of greedy students has, once again, ruined a nice thing for the majority of the student body.