' 111 i (7^
mMKmmjmmm \
5 ' ■ In - cS^
THE BATTALION
Page 3
VVQy
Life is Messy
C ustodians at Texas A&M Univer
sity finish an entire day's worth of
work before lunch.
"Each custodian normally works a 40-
hour shift, and this usually is from 4
a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 6 a.iru to 2:30
p.m.," §aid William H. Hutto, manager of
A&M custodial services.
"I'm from Hearne, so I have to wake
up at 4:30 to be here for my 6 a.m. shift,"
said Netra Hammond, a custodian on the
fourth floor of Evans Library. "I also have
another job working as the front desk
clerk at a hotel from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.,"
she said. This schedule allows Ham
mond only five hours of sleep per night.
Another custodian, Evelia Palos, said
she gets up at 5 a.m. to be at work on time.
Palos and Hammond clean the entire
fourth floor of Evans with the help of
only one other custodian, who is as
signed to a back section of the floor.
"Our main duties are to clean re
strooms, book stacks, tables and water
fountains," Hammond said. She and Pa
los finish this work, empty the trash and
vacuum.
"1 have to mop the landing, too," Pa
los said. The landing is the hard floor in
front of the elevators. Except for a few
ury she reportedly suffered
mador allegedly struck her
me, police said,
as a bloody mess,"
zie was covered in so
at you couldn't tell if he was
ack or Hispanic."
re entered Room 231, Hill-
1, she saw Amador'sbedand
vails splattered
not recognize the body on
r. Amador then started to-
r in his wheelchair and hit
re head with a cane, accord-
:l’ Dalla* Morning News.
specially assigned duties, the women split their
work evenly.
Hammond and Palos have been with the
A&M staff for five and 10 years, respectively.
"Pworked in food service before custodial,
and I like this better," Palos said.
"Evans is tough because it is a high-use facil
ity," said Janet Druen, associate director for ad
ministration to the Phys
ical Plant. "We have a
really great group who
works really hard." With
so many large buildings
to keep up, it is never
easy work, she said.
Druen said the task of
keeping the campus
clean is daunting not
only because of the size
of the buildings, but be
cause of the number of
buildings each cleaning
crew must service.
"One crew may have
to handle up to 20 build
ings," Druen said. "The
sheer number of build
ings requires a tremen
dous amount of work."
Training is also an in
tegral part of the custodians' routine. Custodial
training is necessary for the workers to handle
the various chemicals they use, and Texas A&M
has an excellent training program.
"Our cleaning staff must go through rigorous
training; we have our own in-house training pro
gram," Druen said. "Many other institutions like
Prairie View Texas A&M and also private indus
tries have sought counsel here because our train
ing program is so good."
Safety is one of the most important parts of
training, Druen said. "Custodians have to deal
with a lot of chemicals, especially in the bath
room, so they leam how to mix them," she said.
They also are trained in buffer usage, customer
service, and more specialized duties for their spe
cific job requirements.
"The custodians do all normal cleaning of
classrooms, labs, offices, restrooms, hallways,
stairs, conference rooms, entrances and any spe
cialty areas such as operating rooms," Hutto said.
They also strip and refinish hardwood floors,
shampoo and extract carpet, and clean furniture,
he said.
"The Physical Plant has 23 crews with 20 to
25 in each crew. Every crew has a supervisor,"
Druen said. The three custodial levels allow
workers to be promoted.
"Custodial I is entry level, and to get to level
II or III takes hard work and a willingness to su
pervise others. The higher-level workers in the
crews are still hands-on hard workers," she said.
Hutto said the custodial staff at A&M is
working harder than normal because it is un
derstaffed.
"We currently have about 391 filled positions
(Custodial Workers I, II,
and III); if we had all
positions filled, we
would have 466 peo
ple," Hutto said. These
numbers represent the
Physical Plant custodi
al staff, which does not
include Student Hous
ing, Reed Arena and
Food Services.
While fulfilling
their duties, custodians
must dress properly.
Hutto said, "The dress
code is that they wear a
clean uniform each
day (these are fur
nished by the Physical
Plant) and wear
closed-toe shoes. Head
“ I have to wake up
at 4:30 to be here
for my 6 a.m. shift. I
also have another
job working as the
front desk clerk at a
hotel from 4 p.m. to
99
— Netra Hammond
Evans Library custodian
gear is only permitted
while working outside.
"Their 40-hour week shifts include two daily
15-minute breaks and a half hour for lunch," he
said. Hutto said the only variation form the ear
ly morning shifts is in the library, Student Recre
ation Center, Veterinary School and Georgiy Bush
Library, where custodians have to cover late-
night and weekend shifts. The Memorial Student
Center is covered on a 24-hour schedule. To en
courage these odd hours and hard work, the
minimum wage will soon increase.
"The beginning hourly rate for custodians
will change from $5.56 to $6.15 in September,"
Hutto said. After several years with the Univer
sity, an employee could earn from $8 to $12 an
hour depending upon merit increases ^ and
mandatory raises.
Custodians' only break from hard work
comes in the fall with the Custodial Olympics.
Custodians race in the Commons in sweeping
and dusting contests. "I saw it as a freshman and
loved it," said Casey Wilson, a senior agricultur
al development major.
However, in a typical workday, no time is de
voted to fun and games. With such a large cam
pus, even a staff of 391 has an enormous amount
of cleaning to do.
%
ng campus
;h issues
Aggie custodians straggle to make ends meet
STUDENTS • STUDENTS • STUDENTS • STUDENTS • STUDENTS
Want More Space For Your Money?
An utilities paid, except electric
Great floor plans - Ef£, 1 & 2 Bdrm. Apts.
Giant closets, Immense parking
Includes 2 po,ols, sand volleyball & more
Elephant walk gets you to campus
|<| Sign now for sizzling low prices & save
502 Southwest Pkwy.
HJilloiuick
apartments
693-1325
iiNaams • sxiMaaais • siNaanis • siNaaaxs * sxNaanis
HOPE PREGNANCY CENTERS
OF BRAZOS VALLEY
FACING AN UNPLANNED
PREGNANCY?
YOU DON'T HAVE TO FACE IT ALONE.
Pregnancy Peer Counseling Service
Complete Confidentiality
Information on Abortion Risks
Free Pregnancy Test
Mon., Tues. & Thurs. 9-8 • Wed. & Fri. 9-5 • Sat. 8-12
846-1097
3620 E. 29TH ST • BRYAN
and spring semesters and
im periods) at Texas A&M
address changes to The
in the Division of Student
uilding. Newsroom phone:
tamu.edu
ne Battalion. For campus,
-0569. Advertising offices
Fax: 845-2678.
:k up a single copy of The
r, $30 for the fall or spring
over, or American Express,
Hey Ags- 1
Volunteer Now!
Freshman Welcome Day
is August 23rd!
Volunteers are needed to help in all areas!.
Each volunteer will receive a FREE T-shirt to wear on
Welcome Day.
For more information, please contact Laura Balkum at:
845-2233 or laurab@godzilla.tamu.edu
Freshman Welcome Day is part of Gig ‘Em Week.
For more information, visit:
http://studentlife.tamu.edu/slo/wow/htm
LEARN TO
FLY NOW
At United Flight Systems
THE EXPERIENCED FLIGHT SCHOOL
AVIATION
CAREER
TRACKS
■ While working
on your
college
degree,
accomplish
your pilot’s
certificates at
the same time
Upon finishing
your college
career, you
can secure a
job as an
airline pilot.
Get Your Pilot License
for as little as $ 50
a month!!
hi
Cessna
College Station
Easterwood Airport
409 260-6322
www.unitedflight.com
Easily
awarded
student loans
(24 hr.
award notice)
i Private thru
advanced
training
l Aircraft rental
l Pilot Shop
l F.A.A.
approved 141
school
i VA eligible
Benefits
Want Gifts & Ca$h?
Then NOW is the time to order your
GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENTS!
• We accept orders until July 3T'
• Aggieland Printing can get you ready
to mail announcements in one week
• We have our own unique design
Licensed by A&M Don't miss it - see them
on the web www.aggielandprinting.com
We sell
• Graduation Announcements • Graduation Remembrance Displays
• Thank You Notes • Personalized Graduate Notepads
Order & pay online: www.aggielandprinting.com
Aggieland Printing
1801 Holleman, C.S.
693-8621 M-F 8:30-5:30
*
This Week.
Wednesday:
Brazos Groove Authority
featuring Greg This & Parker Bradley
$ 3 cover
Thursday:
Speakeasy
$ 3 cover
FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE:
Inside You
$ 3 cover
Where real musicians play!
201 W. 26th Street, Downtown Bryan
775-7735