Con Prof: Oberlin Buildings Not Clean, Health Risk

To the Editors:

Reading John Scofield’s letter in the Nov. 8 issue of the Review brought home two points about the custodial situation on this campus. A few years ago I used to spend summers out in California at UCSB. The music facility there is lovely and right on the ocean. Santa Barbara is beautiful. The facilities weren’t kept up, however, with acoustic tiles falling off the walls and ceilings, and a general sense of dirt everywhere.

The janitors there were almost never visible...I don’t think there were many of them. Here the staff does what it can to keep up our buildings, but the presence of “dust bunnies” in stairwells and under desks doesn’t indicate a satisfactory completion of their duties. It points to the fact that our current staff is working as hard as they can, but they are only just keeping ahead of major deterioration.

We also have students in the Conservatory who spend a healthy summer away from Oberlin and, within one week of returning, are having major sinus congestion again. One look at the air vents in the hallways will show the reason clearly. For the health of our students, the air vents should all be cleaned yearly. Clear evidence says that they aren’t.

Before people praise the fabulous work of the Facilities Management Resources, I’d suggest a close look at these points. Mr. Scofield is right. Our facilities aren’t being kept up as they should be. It is not just a matter of cosmetics either. It is a matter of health

–Alan Montgomery
Assistant Music Director
Oberlin Opera and Theater