Residence Life begins weekly room checks, emphasis on health and safety
Students are adjusting to the new routine.
Along with other changes this academic year, the Bethel College Community Assistants (CAs) and Larry Rice, Coordinator for Residence Life, have implemented a new weekly protocol for student schedules.
Once a week, CAs will enter rooms to check in on student health and safety.
Rice spoke to The Collegian about how effective weekly check-ins are compared to monthly health and safety checks from the past. “It’s trying to form healthy habits and cleaning habits,” he said. “A lot of people have them which is no problem, but this helps people who maybe are not cleaning on a regular basis.”
During the summer, Bethel opens up Warkentine Court for students to have the opportunity to live on campus. Some rooms had been left filthy ahead of students’ return for the fall semester, so this is just another emphasis to try to change that outcome and build positive and good habits for students living on campus.
Weekly room checks also prepare students for the future. “When you have your own place or rent a place, you want to make sure that you clean it up and keep it clean, or else you’re going to be paying for the damage when you leave that place,” Rice said.
Weekly check-ins include a CA coming into each room and ensuring that it’s relatively clean (even if it’s a messy clean) and if you have a bathroom that it’s also up to par. They also make sure that dirty laundry isn’t scattered everywhere and check for fire safety issues – such as malfunctioning or obstructed smoke detectors.
Student safety and sanitation is the main goal for weekly room checks. And now a month in, room checks have been going relatively well for most students, who are still getting used to fitting room checks into their schedule.
If a room fails a weekly test, the first step is a warning from Rice along with resources and details on how to fix the problem. The second infraction results in a $25 fine, and a third is a referral to the campus judicial process for non-compliance.
CA Jesse McMichael also mentioned that room checks are going well because it ensures student health in a number of ways.
“These checks ensure that we are making sure that our residents are doing well mentally, physically, and emotionally,” she said. “We’re also making sure that the living conditions of Bethel College are holding to par as we do not want problems to arise with destruction in the housing of students.”
Students who have questions regarding room checks can follow up on the room condition form that each room filled out at the beginning of the year. CAs will also be able to help residents out by providing resources such as vacuums, mops, or Swiffers that can be checked out in each living space.
Residents in Haury and Warkentin are also provided with cleaning buckets filled with cleaning supplies.