Recently, I went to view a film at the Gish Theater, and upon arriving there, I had just finished an Arby’s shake I’d been drinking.

I was greeted at the door by a Ph.D.-holding University Faculty member who informed me I mustn’t go into the theater with a drink.

I told him the cup was empty, and I’d failed locate a trash can. He peeked out to examine the hallway, saw no trashcan, and promptly told me, “Well, just set it down. They’ll get it.”

I was instantly repulsed. I told him no, I was a student custodian myself, and he then sheepishly led me to a trashcan where I could deposit my empty cup.

Now, this level of complete disrespect for custodians has infuriated me, because it is not an isolated incident.

I work weekends cleaning one of the residence halls on campus, and the extent of disregard for another human being is unbelievable.

I want to know what goes through people’s minds when they throw their trash all over the hallway, or smear fecal matter on the bathroom walls; I simply do not understand.

Do they simply not realize someone has to come along and clean that?

Also, do they realize that the people that typically hold these types of jobs encounter things like this on a regular basis?

Custodians are the most undervalued employees, if you ask me, and it’s angering to see such proof of this ideology.

— Sami Stallman

[email protected]