Snow and rain storms affected students this semester, but the custodians were the ones who had to clean up the mess.
Building services supervisor Carl Burgess said the hardest part of the job is responding to emergencies like floods and leaks.
"It's always timing and resources, and it's about getting the job done quickly," he said.
Burgess oversees about 75 custodians that work all over campus, except for in residence halls, dining halls and sports facilities.
Ball State was hit with a heavy rainstorm before Spring Break, leaving the custodians with more work than usual. After the rainstorm, custodians were reassigned to respond to affected areas.
"It's not only getting the water pumped up," Burgess said. "You have to clean it, extract water from the carpets [and] sanitize everything."
Sometimes when weather emergencies require extra help, some custodians clock in extra hours. Burgess said he has employees work all day and night if needed, allowing time for only sleep and eating.
Custodian Willie Couch said he still enjoys the challenge of custodial duties after three years working at Ball State.
"If you really take pride in what you're doing, you always see something that you should have gotten done," he said. "There's always something lurking in the back of your mind like, ‘Oh yeah. I should have gotten those pictures dusted.' You always [have] 15 things even after you do the basics."
Ball State custodians do more than just cleaning restrooms, hallways, entrances and offices. Their duties also entail sweeping, mopping, polishing and waxing floors, vacuuming and shampooing carpets, pulling trash and cleaning glass.
"Just look around, if it's not a personal item or property, a custodian is usually assigned to clean it." Couch said.
Ball State graduate Aubrey Watt has worked as a custodian since July 2010. She said being a past student has helped her because she knows when classes begin and end, making it easier to time when to clean up the areas that tend to be busy.
Although she doesn't complain about her job, Watt recognized that the transition to college is not easy for all students.
"I think we as a society rely a lot on our parents when we do live at home," she said. "I think when students come to this atmosphere they kind of forget their manners sometimes."
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