St. John’s custodians deal with the fallout of dorm destruction

This year, CSB/SJU has seen more property damage than in a number of years.

With most offenses taking place inside the buildings at St. John’s, one might wonder the opinions of the group of people most directly impacted: custodians.

Because of the nature of the work, most custodians are drawn to the job by a different motivation.

Some enjoy the independence of the work, and others—such as SJU custodian Michelle Achman—felt CSB/SJU was a place where she could feel comfortable, as well as admire the beauty of campus.

She’s worked in Johnnie dorm halls Thomas, Bernard, Patrick,and Boniface, as well as the Reef and Peter Engel Science Center.

While she’s had a countless number of positive interactions with the students, there are a fair amount of negative aspects.

Walking into work and seeing the residents’ messes from the night prior can be far from a welcoming experience.

“I’ve seen a lot of poop on the shower walls, puke on the shower walls,” Achman said.

She also said that exit signs and lights are often broken. Another custodian, who works in Tommy Hall and the Alcuin Library Center, spoke of a fire extinguisher disarmed and sprayed all over the upper levels of Tommy.

“As a parent with a student in college, I would be disheartened if I found out my child caused damage like this,” she said.

The topic of dorm destruction has been a hot one, especially with the recent Senate elections. With talk of putting cameras into the dorms as a measure to prevent destruction, students raised concerns of privacy, leading some candidates to actively campaign against their installation.

The student body and custodians remain divided on this issue as the school year ends. For some halls, the sheer amount of damage means all residents have to pay for repairs—even those who didn’t break anything.

Achman described a conversation she overheard in which a student said “well, if you spread the cost across the whole building, we only have to pay 20 bucks…who cares?”

For Achman, this type of response shows a lack of respect not only for the innocent students but also for the custodians, who are tasked with cleaning everything up.

On top of that, the custodial department is severely understaffed.

Most of them have to work extra hours because they don’t have enough help, as well as take care of additional buildings whenever an employee is gone.

ServiceMaster, a commercial cleaning service, is paid to come in, though the custodians say they often end up just having to re-clean their work as it is usually not up to standard.

“We’re running ragged,” Achman said.

However, the job isn’t without its rewards. Barb Weyer, who has worked for two and a half years in Tommy Hall, the physical plant and Emmaus Hall, said that the nice people are her favorite part of the job.

“The people over on the third floor of Tommy are the sweetest,” Weyer said.

According to Weyer, the students who live there often pick up stray garbage in the hallways, hold doors for her, and tidy up the lounge so she doesn’t have to. She also loves her work in Emmaus Hall, where nuns and monks share their stories with her and give her food to take home.

“We’re here for the students, to keep their environment nice,” the custodian who works in Alcuin said.

Achman reiterated this belief, as she loves to hear students say a simple “good morning” or “thanks”.

“I’ve been thanked a million times,” Achman said. “It brings tears to my eyes.”