Last Friday’s heavy rains demonstrated the dedication of service employees and building workers. When nearly every subterranean floor on both the River Campus and the UR Medical Center was experiencing some flooding or water damage, staff mobilized to quickly clean up and restore services.
While an incident such as this could require building closures and other inconveniences, the quick clean up was done without much of a disruption to the daily routine of students.
The fast and effective response from University Facilities and Services, Residential Life, Dining Services and other involved organizations highlights the hard work that often goes unnoticed on this campus. It does not take a special situation to show the diligence that staff workers display every day.
Take Wilson Commons, for example. As the hub of student life, thousands of people walk through it on a daily basis. The high volume of traffic creates a large amount of trash and leaves the building a mess by day’s end. The next morning, though, Wilson Commons is spotless.
In residence halls, staff keep the showers clean and the sinks flowing, drag huge bags of trash down flights of stairs and keep doors, washers, dryers, lights and every other piece of equipment in top shape.
While of course everyone has a complaint or can think of an exception, it is difficult to look past the overwhelming task placed on the people who are arguably the hardest workers at UR. Typically, workers are only thanked once a year with a card or a poster during a week devoted to facilities appreciation.
However, their dedication is always deserving of thanks. So next time you see that guy changing a light bulb or unclogging a toilet, or that woman taking out the trash, take a moment and say, “thank you.”
They earned it.
