Mena
Dirty Restrooms
4/20/08
Pristine marble floors, spotless toilet seats, impeccable sinks, hand soap which sat still in its dispenser, toilet paper and paper towels had never been used.
Since the beginning of the spring semester on Feb. 11, the restrooms in the Humanities Building have been used by countless students. According to custodians, students, and some faculty, students are not doing their best to keep the restrooms clean.
“If you are attending EC, the campus restrooms are your responsibility because this is your school,” Ora Bryant, 56, Operations Supervisor said. “This is where you go and you should take pride in your school.”
A group of workers goes in the morning from 6a.m. to around 8:30a.m or 10a.m.Their duty is primary detail which includes scrubbing and washing the doors, toilets, walls and sinks in all the restrooms around campus.
“The new restrooms in the Humanities Building are beginning to look like all the other restrooms on campus,” Carmen De La Cruz, 41, custodian said. “They usually have a lot of paper on the floor.”
After the workers have their break, they go out again at 10:30a.m to check the restrooms. A total of four groups go out, two in each group, one male, one female. The restrooms in the Behavioral Arts, Mathematics, Social Science, and Humanities Buildings are checked and supplies restocked if necessary.
“I was just in the restroom and once again, a non-disabled person was in the disabled persons stall,” Mary Ann Leiby, English Professor, who happens to be a wheel-chair user herself said. “It is a matter of disrespect. Students are not treating the new building in a respectful manner.”
The Humanities Building is cleaned first thing in the morning, after the night crew leaves, again at 10:30a.m, 12:30p.m., 2:30p.m. and occasionally 4:30p.m. All together the major buildings, Humanities and Mathematics are visited by custodians four to five times a day.
“The custodians find paper towels on the floor. Women restrooms are in much worse condition than the men restrooms,” Bryant said. “We have started seeing graffiti in the women restrooms that we did not use to see too often.”
Although automatic toilets are installed in the Humanities Building, the sensor is not always activated. Therefore, some students are walking away without flushing the toilet.
“Sometimes when I go up to use the toilet, I notice that it hasn’t been flushed,” Shamia Salih, 25, Biology, said. “There are buttons on the wall so if the toilet doesn’t flush automatically, the button can be pressed for the user to do so.”
Custodians have also been noticing foot prints on the toilet seats and urine on the floor which leads them to believe that students are standing on the seats to use the restrooms.
“People may be afraid of getting germs but many times their aim is off and their mess is left on the floor,” De La Cruz said. “We can’t be in the restrooms all the time.”
More and more, the custodians find themselves closing restrooms due to the extensive amount of toilet paper and seat covers being thrown into the toilet, causing them to clog up.
“Treat the restrooms as you treat yours at home,” De La Cruz said. “They are open specifically for your use so respect them and keep them clean.”