Custodians across campus called to assist snow, ice cleanup

To help with the clean up of last week's snow and ice, the University of Oklahoma Facilities Management enlisted the help of workers from different campus buildings, a custodial worker said.

Stanley Robinson, a custodian for the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, was one of the employees who assisted with cleanup efforts.

“We were trying to clear the ice and snow off the sidewalks, walkways, the entrances to each building to try to make it safe for the students and staff because we were under the impression that we were going to have class — that campus was going to reopen Friday,” Robinson said.

Workers were called in at 9 a.m. Thursday to help clear walkways and roads by shoveling snow and putting ice-melting substances on the ground, Robinson said. Once the university made the decision to close Friday, the workers were released at about 4 p.m.

Snowstorms in Oklahoma are not anything new and the procedures are mostly the same, Robinson said. With more winter weather predicted tonight, the custodial crew will receive cleanup assignments as they come and will not do anything different regarding preparations and readying the campus, he said.

“It’s that way year after year,” Robinson said, “so I don’t foresee doing anything different, unless the supervisor comes up with something different.”

Students and staff safety are primary concerns, Robinson said, but he encouraged people to use common sense.

“We do what we can to make the campus as safe as possible, as far as clearing the ice and snow," he said. "But safety relies on each individual.”

Reina Lyons

Reina is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as Photographer.