Custodians

There's this one custodian who cleans a certain building at Western who is always there mopping the floor when I go to my meetings. The custodian, a small, old man, stops his cleaning to let me walk past. He's usually unsmiling and rather unhappy looking (I'm not too sure what reason he'd have to smile, as cleaning the floor is really not that fun), but lately I've smiled at him and said "hello" or "excuse me" or something, and he always cheers up and says something kind in response.

The other day, I was in the performing arts building, and there were two custodians hauling a large cart of clearing supplies down the hall. I needed to go down the same hall they were about to go down, and one of the custodians respectfully opened the door for me and let me go first, and I thanked him. I came to another door in the hallway (come to think of it, those doors are completely pointless), and I performed the polite and normal act of holding the door so they could push the large cart through. Rather than just saying "thanks," one of them said, "Thank you! Not many students would do that for us." I talked with them a little bit about doors, and although it wasn't the most interesting conversation, I realized that few people realize what custodians do for us. If we encountered a professor in the hall, even if we didn't know that professor, we'd at least simile and acknowledge their existence. I feel as though we almost always ignore custodians and pretend they aren't there.

I bet custodians realize that they're under-appreciated, and we, as students, can make a huge difference in their lives by at least smiling at them and telling them "good morning." But I'm not saying that we should feel sorry for or suck up to them; I'm simply stating what I have observed and concluded. I encourage everyone to befriend a custodian, because they are some of the nicest people I've ever met.

--Elie