Written by: Carlos Torres
Southern Adventist University recently conducted routine bathroom cleanliness checks for the Southern Village apartments. The process, however, has left many students puzzled after some apartments failed the first round of the checks.
November 1 was the selected day for the bathroom checks at the apartments off Timberland Terrace. Brooke Bridges, the employee responsible for managing off-campus housekeeping, went around to check the resident’s bathrooms for cleanliness and maintenance requests.
According to Bridges, the purpose of the cleanliness checks is not so much for the aesthetic cleanliness of the bathrooms but to ensure that the upkeep of the buildings is maintained. The cleanliness checks are what help keep the cleaning and maintenance staff aware of the needs of the buildings and their residents, according to Bridges.
Residents should be alerted via email a week prior to the check date so that they may have time to prepare and clean. In the email, they receive the schedule of the checks, an outline of what areas will be inspected and many tips on how to clean those areas. The Village bathroom checks are based on the same checks that occur in the dorms, which most of the Village residents have experienced prior.
According to Bridges, there is a difference between both residential areas in regards to cleanliness.
“A lot of freshmen [in the dorm] are learning how to be away from home for the first time and need a bit more checking up on in the cleanliness department,” Bridges said. “Thankfully, that’s not the case in the Village. As far as cleaning goes, everybody was pretty good about it.”
However, for some Southern Village residents, this was not the case.
Edward Backer, a senior psychology major and Village resident assistant, shared in an interview with the Accent some of the concerns his residents voiced to him . One particular resident Backer mentioned had a situation where he failed for grainy bits around the toilet floor that were caused by rusty screws despite his constant cleaning of that area.
According to Backer, many residents expressed their grievances about the checks and how they felt they were being judged too harshly.
“The thing that I think was really on everyone’s mind was, ‘If you failed the check twice, you were going to be fined,” and no one wanted to be fined,” Backer said.
In his opinion, “The standards that were placed on these checks were a little higher than I would recommend.”
Regardless, to help meet the standard, Backer and the other resident assistants are essential in preparing students for the checks. They helped remind the students of upcoming check dates, provided them with cleaning tips and even helped them get cleaning supplies.
“[Many residents] didn’t realize what I would be checking because, unfortunately, many of them didn’t read the email where I told them, but that’s why we have two checks.” Brooke continued, “Those who weren’t maybe quite up to what it said on the paperwork, it was the first round, and they did such a good job improving that the goal was met.”
Bridges encourages students to continue doing a good job in maintaining their apartments and to continue being watchful of the emails to ensure that they are prepared for the upcoming checks. She also invites them to email brookebridges@southern.edu with questions or if they need advice on how to maintain their bathrooms.
