Over the years, we've seen Plant Services get bashed again and again, and we've seen things improve. Last winter, for instance, the sidewalks were much safer thanks to these guys getting out there at 6AM to shovel for us in time for 8AM classes. It was much better than the winter before, when Stoddard residents were afraid to leave their dorms due to the amount of ice that accumulated on the stairs and railings. Overall, they did an outstanding job, and we're sure they'll do the same this year.
The point is that no one ever really tells Plant Services when they've done something RIGHT. For the most part, these people work really hard to make the campus look nice. Sure, some students pick on them for planting more flowers during Parent's Day, Homecoming and Commencement (when they bring in the parking lot garden), but it really does make the campus look nice. Same with watering the grass, something else that came up on the newsgroups. You won't see too many other schools watering the grass during the school year, mostly because, guess what - there isn't any. (Yes, this is a generalization, there are schools with more grass, and some with less, but for the most part, it's less)
It's really cool that these guys take the pride that they do in their work. If you talk to a janitor or groundsman and ask him or her how he likes working here, a lot of them will tell you that they like it here and that they like contributing to the campus like they do. They especially like the friendly students who say "hi" to them on the way to class.
Sure, sometimes it seems like forever to get a work order finished once you've submitted it, and sometimes you don't get an immediate response to a complaint filed, but the campus is pretty large, and there's a lot to be done.
If there's one thing we'd like to say here, it's that Plant Services deserves a pat on the back for their hard work during the summer in preparation for the new students and especially for the new recycling program. They've made it really easy for everyone to recycle now, not just administrators and faculty members in their offices, and hopefully we'll recycle a lot more in the future.
We realize that this sounds like we are kissing up to Plant Services, but really we're just expressing our gratitude for all the things they've done RIGHT instead of complaining about what they've done WRONG since we're sure they get enough of that. If something goes seriously wrong, well... we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
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