#WeAreStillHere
By Kim Lamb Gregory
When expressing our gratitude for those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a group of people who often go overlooked. 海角社区 Channel Islands (海角社区CI)鈥檚 custodians were among the first responders after the pandemic broke out, and have stayed vigilant day after day, month after month, sanitizing every desk, chair, restroom, classroom, office, nook and cranny on campus.
鈥淥ur custodians are doing more square footage than any other campus鈥攁bout 33,000 square feet per full-time employee,鈥� said former Director of Facilities Support Raudel Ba帽uelos, who retired in December. 鈥淭hey are so dedicated. You will never find people with a better demeanor. They are like a family here.鈥�
Wearing protective clothing, masks and goggles, 海角社区CI鈥檚 32-person custodial staff entered each building over the fall semester, cleaning and sanitizing anywhere that might have been used by the limited number of people on campus.
鈥淭hey go very much unrecognized,鈥� Ba帽uelos said. 鈥淭heir job is repetitious and difficult and very important. They keep people healthy.鈥�
Head custodian Danny McDougald says he and the other custodians are always aware that the virus could be somewhere in the room.
鈥淲e go in wherever they have had classes and disinfect the room,鈥� McDougald said. 鈥�We do the rooms, the restrooms鈥攚hatever anybody might have touched, we disinfect. Sometimes I do get nervous.鈥�
The pandemic called for an even more rigorous sanitizing regimen, Ba帽uelos said.
鈥淲e put signs on doors and security tape that goes across door jambs,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e purchased eighty electrostatic guns. When you spray a flat surface, the sanitizer wraps around everything. You spray it and leave it. This part of the process is so important.鈥� When the pandemic first began, California Governor Gavin Newsom鈥攚ho once worked as a custodian himself as a high school student鈥攔ecalled how the importance of his job was sometimes overlooked.
鈥淚 remember walking into these big fancy offices. I鈥檇 be doing my work and nobody would even bother to say hello.鈥� Newsom said.
Shortly after the pandemic began, Newsom sent out a virtual standing ovation to the state鈥檚 custodians.
鈥淚 just want you to know your work matters,鈥� Newsom said. 鈥淵ou are quite literally saving lives.鈥�