A stroll through the halls in the Ellicott complex or a glance at a lecture hall in Knox is proof that students are often careless about where their garbage is thrown. With the constant parade of students, the resulting trash-lined hallways and common-area damage charges is often frustrating for students and the cleaning staff, alike.
"People are lazy. They're just brats," said Rachel White, a sophomore anthropology major. "They leave all their trash on the ground when the garbage can is, like, three feet away."
Some members of the cleaning staff say students should treat the complex as they would their home.
"I think that a lot of students treat this like a hotel instead of where they live," said Jeanine Kankiewicz, a former member of the Fargo Quad cleaning staff.
Others attribute the messy dorms to other student habits.
"I believe a lot of it is alcohol related," said Patrick Kipler, a janitor in the Ellicott Complex. "When (students are) drunk, they come and do stuff they normally wouldn't do. It's just costing the other kids money for their fun and games."
Despite this, some cleaners believe the efforts made by residence hall staff have a huge effect on the cleanliness of living areas.
"I try to keep a good rapport with them. I try to be helpful for them when they first move in and that goes a long way," said Theodore Clyburn, a cleaner in the Ellicott complex.
The work of the cleaning staff is not only visible in the dorms. For students who do not live on campus, the cleanliness of UB is judged based on the academic complexes.
Eric Breindel, a sophomore theater major, is a commuter and said what he sees of UB gives him no cause for concern about the cleanliness of his school.
"The students aren't that clean, but I notice that they have a lot of staff picking up garbage from the walkways and other places," he said.
Students living in the university apartments say it is a definite improvement to living in the dorms as far as cleanliness.
"I live in less filth now then when I lived on South or Red Jacket," said Ben Widawsky, a media studies and computer science major. "The only area they clean (in the apartments) is the laundry room, but you can't even compare to the dorms."
In the event of an excessive mess or damage to an area in the university, the cleaning staff is forced to spend extra time dealing with those specific problems.
UB has organized a council in response to the prevalence of common area destruction; members of the council include residence hall advisors, residence hall directors, students and cleaning staff.
"Common area damages are voted on. There's a student representative from hall council, and a head cleaner," said Michael Small, residence hall director. "Our job is to minimize the charges. The purpose of them is just to recover the cost of the cleaner, it's not meant to be a punitive thing."
According to Kipler, students can avoid being charged for residence hall damage by informing a staff member of the individuals responsible, but he said even when students are aware of who is causing the damage, they sometimes choose not to inform the proper authorities.
"It's the 'I don't care' attitude and the peer pressure," said Kipler. "Put a note under somebody's door. If they don't tell, all they're doing is enabling the person to keep doing it."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
