They are everywhere, if you take the time to look. They wash the floors hundreds of shoes dirty every day. They scrub toilets and dishes so everything is clean and safe for people to use. They don't party at tailgate, but instead show up after the festivities end to pick up the scraps and trash.
If it weren't for the custodians, landscape employees, Dining workers, garbage workers and others willing to do Ball State University's "dirty jobs," this wouldn't be a place to live and love, let alone learn at.
Let's not take for granted the people who quietly make this university run smoothly by doing the necessary, behind-the-scenes work. For many, the work is more than a paycheck. It's a job with benefits at a time when unemployment hit 5.9 percent during October, which was 1.2 percent more than the national average, according to Indiana's official Web site.
It's also a chance to give back to the community and support students working towards degrees. Some custodians bond with the residents of the buildings they work in, and they exchange cards and leave each other gifts for holidays.
These are important people at Ball State, and ones everyone should know. Let's not only appreciate what they do, but find ways to show it. It could be as simple as a smile, wave and "Hi" as you walk by. Stop and strike up a conversation -ยก- sometimes you can share some great stories. Wipe up the mess from a soda that spilled on the floor when dropped.
Sure, it's their job to make sure Ball State remains a nice place to live. But they are more than the people who clean up after everyone else. Most of them were here before we started taking classes, and many will still work here after we graduate.
We students are here for four, five, sometimes six years, but these employees are here for decades. Ball State might be more their school than ours. Let's be thankful they share it with us.
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