Clean and Clear, or Not.
Issue date: 11/26/08 Section: News
Once when she responded to the complaints by surveying the residential section of the dorms herself, Burthwright said she found that "bathrooms were not bathrooms" and kitchens, showers, and floors "weren't as clean as they should be."
Are students or cleaners, then, to be blamed?
Burthwright said she believed it was a "two-way street."
Attempts at cleanliness "work best when there is cooperation between students and cleaners," she said, adding that it would help if students also took up responsibility and saw the residence hall as their own.
Most residents, on the other hand, went a step further. They believed the responsibility should fall entirely on students themselves, as cleaners already do what they are supposed to.
"The custodians leave the bathrooms and kitchen sparkling clean. They also take out the trash on time," said Vishwanath. It is the students who "oftentimes leave hair in the bathrooms that end up clogging the drain, and urinate on the seat covers," she said.
Long felt similarly. "I think they do the best with what they have. I do see custodians on my floor restocking toilet paper, paper towels and mopping the hallways maybe twice a week," she said of the cleaning staff. Her peers, she felt, "could definitely be more considerate of their floor mates."
Robert Hendrix of the Facilities and Management Office of Brookdale also said he often heard complaints, but not particularly against the cleaning staff, which he estimates to be of eight people.
This staff, he said, is responsible for cleaning kitchens and showers on each floor once a day, which residents mostly agreed it does.
Yet, there is enough blame to go around, some students said.
Sharbafan said she felt that, at times, the cleaners "do a good job but lately they haven't. I feel like they barely mop the floors or clean the showers or toilet seats. I'm not sure if they clean our kitchen because it looks the same every day," she said.
Burthwright seemed to agree. She said if all of the custodian staff were like Maria, the cleaner assigned to the first four residential floors, things would be better. The reason Maria cleans well, Burthwright said, is because "she takes pride in her work."
"I wish I could clone her," she added.
Are students or cleaners, then, to be blamed?
Burthwright said she believed it was a "two-way street."
Attempts at cleanliness "work best when there is cooperation between students and cleaners," she said, adding that it would help if students also took up responsibility and saw the residence hall as their own.
Most residents, on the other hand, went a step further. They believed the responsibility should fall entirely on students themselves, as cleaners already do what they are supposed to.
"The custodians leave the bathrooms and kitchen sparkling clean. They also take out the trash on time," said Vishwanath. It is the students who "oftentimes leave hair in the bathrooms that end up clogging the drain, and urinate on the seat covers," she said.
Long felt similarly. "I think they do the best with what they have. I do see custodians on my floor restocking toilet paper, paper towels and mopping the hallways maybe twice a week," she said of the cleaning staff. Her peers, she felt, "could definitely be more considerate of their floor mates."
Robert Hendrix of the Facilities and Management Office of Brookdale also said he often heard complaints, but not particularly against the cleaning staff, which he estimates to be of eight people.
This staff, he said, is responsible for cleaning kitchens and showers on each floor once a day, which residents mostly agreed it does.
Yet, there is enough blame to go around, some students said.
Sharbafan said she felt that, at times, the cleaners "do a good job but lately they haven't. I feel like they barely mop the floors or clean the showers or toilet seats. I'm not sure if they clean our kitchen because it looks the same every day," she said.
Burthwright seemed to agree. She said if all of the custodian staff were like Maria, the cleaner assigned to the first four residential floors, things would be better. The reason Maria cleans well, Burthwright said, is because "she takes pride in her work."
"I wish I could clone her," she added.
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