Custodians' valuable contribution

Custodians at IU clean up after students every day — picking up trash, mopping and sweeping floors, cleaning bathrooms and restocking utilities, among many other duties that keep the residence halls a healthy and safe environment.

The custodians work from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on a daily basis, cleaning up after IU’s students more than 80 hours a week.

“On three days a week, we have to go in and clean the bathrooms,” 20-year Briscoe Quad Custodian Terrie Porter said. “We do 24 bathrooms on Tuesday and then 23 on Wednesday for the two of us.

“We clean those Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, so that pretty (much) takes up an entire day.”

Porter and David Page, another custodian who’s worked at Briscoe for 30 years, agreed the first few weeks of school are hectic for both students and
custodians.

Custodians work all summer long, but they said in the first weeks there are many boxes to clean up and droves of students moving furniture.

Despite the craziness, the custodians said their favorite part of the job is interacting with students. Porter said the custodians interact with the students all day long.

Most of the interaction is students asking for things or a simple, “Hi,” but the custodians said they occasionally meet a few students who say “Thank you.”

“It makes you feel better to know they appreciate what you’re doing for them because they don’t realize how much we do,” Porter said.

Porter and Page said they enjoy getting to know the athletes who have lived in Briscoe. Page said he remembers when diver Mark Lenzi, a gold medalist in the 1992 Olympics, went to IU.

Porter and Page also recall when Cody Zeller lived in Briscoe a couple years ago.
“The room is empty right now,” Page said. “On the outside there’s a name tag that says ‘Ghost of Cody Zeller.’”

Eric Baker, custodian at Forest Quad, agreed the students are his favorite part of the job.

“You get the international students here, and you get to know them and their birth countries,” Baker said. “Just getting to know the students and where they’re from is
really neat.”

Sherlene Langley, custodial supervisor at Teter Quad, said she feels the custodial staff is a great asset to the students.

“They really try to help them in any way they can,” Langley said.

Langley and her team do their best to make sure Teter is a clean and healthy environment for all its students.

“I’ve been here for almost 30 years,” Langley said. “I’ve always taken pride in my job and the way it was done.”

Follow reporter Torie Schumacher on Twitter @shoe_torie.