Get Herald RSSTo the Editor:
The comments by Nathaniel Sloan '08.5 in The Herald ("Overheard on College Hill," asking "What do you think of off-campus living on College Hill?" Nov. 2) leapt off the page at me. While I'm sure that he did not mean his comments to be offensive, they were nonetheless.
His statement was, and I quote, "it feels good to be responsible and not have some faceless janitor cleaning your bathroom." I was very insulted to have to read a statement like that in a newspaper from a university like Brown, which prides itself on mutual respect, the dignity of the human being and the individual. This struck me as very callous from a responsible young man who I would assume is striving to better himself through the very excellent education that he has received in the last three years that he has been at Brown.
Speaking of being and belonging to the Brown community, I have been a "faceless" member of this community for 20 years, 20 years of "faceless" commitment to the students who come here to learn and the faculty that teach them. Twenty years of providing a clean, safe environment, and we are also the eyes and ears of Brown. I have personally not once but twice chased outsiders to the Brown community who were intent on perpetrating crimes here at Brown, one resulting in an arrest and removal from the campus. Just last week, while I was working overtime, I found a cashbox containing money left behind by students who had held a fundraiser. It was turned over to the Department of Public Safety and returned to its rightful owners.
We aren't called Essential Services for nothing. I am on an emergency call-back list, and if I get a call at home, just as I did at 2 a.m. the other night, I will respond to the campus. When the University is shut down, as in a snowstorm and no one is even reporting to work, myself and fellow co-workers in Facilities Management will be here putting the University back together again.
I am not the only "faceless" person on this campus. There are a myriad of "faceless" people from DPS who keep you safe, my co-workers and the great management team we have at Facilities Management who fix everything imaginable and all those good "faceless" folks who prepare all of your delicious meals at Dining Services, to the research librarian who finds that rare book you need to finish a paper.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that we are not "faceless" robotrons, but people who love Brown, love working here and being recognized for what we do. The fact that we actually spend more time with our Brown "family" than with our own does not diminish the fact that we do have families and lives away from Brown and that in fact we are not "faceless."
Frank Almeida III Custodian, Metcalf Dorm & 111 Brown St. Nov. 12
