The new year will see the return of Saturday cleanings.
At Campus Council’s meeting Thursday night, Bernard Smith, assistant director of housekeeping operations for Residence Life and Housing Services, announced that Saturday cleanings of West and East Campus dormitories will resume Jan. 16. RLHS eliminated the cleanings in August because of significant cuts in housekeeping operations, he said, noting that the number of positions was reduced from 120 to 88 this year.
Smith said the decision to bring back Saturday cleanings was a result of a semester of complaints and concerns from students.
Following the elimination of Saturday cleanings, RLHS monitored the effects and complaints, ultimately finding it feasible to bring back the old cleaning schedule, Smith said. Starting next semester, 16 housekeeping staff members will be in charge of Saturday cleanings, with six on East and 10 on West. In order to overcome the difficulty of having fewer employees, housekeeping staff will be working with a new “team cleaning concept.”
“We’re just doing more with less,” Smith said.
RLHS Associate Dean Joe Gonzalez said the reinstitution of Saturday cleanings will incur no additional cost, a factor that played heavily in RLHS’ decision. He added that staff levels during the weekday workdays will be adjusted accordingly to compensate for the Saturday schedule.
Campus Council President Stephen Temple, a junior, said members were strongly in favor of reinstituting Saturday cleanings.
Students can continue to do their share in keeping the campus clean, Smith said.
“Just be more considerate... you’re going to be having your parties Friday nights and that’s fine, but pick up [after] yourself so we don’t have to pick up 400, 500 beer bottles or beer cans,” he said. “Just pick up, that’s all we’re asking.”
In other business:
After a presentation from LDOC committee members, Campus Council moved to provide $15,000 for the Last Day of Classes. Duke University Union decided to grant a cash allocation of the same amount for LDOC in its meeting Tuesday.
Next semester, Campus Council will discuss giving space on Central campus to Panhellenic Association sororities, Temple said.
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