Andrew Cheng | Phoenix Staff

Students prepare for a night spent cleaning as part of Learning 4 Life’s Take Your Partner to Work Day.

BY MICHAEL GLUK

In print | Published March 26, 2009

On Monday, March 23, the campus group Learning for Life held its annual Take Your Partner to Work Day. Operating under a belief in the power of shared experiences, the event sought to “promote mutual respect and understanding for all members of the campus community,” said one of the organizers of the event, Roseanna Sommers ’10, by partnering students with night-shift members of the Facilities staff for a midnight through 1:30 a.m. cleaning of Parrish.

Learning for Life is an organization that pairs students with staff members from EVS, Dining Services and Facilities to “work together on learning projects of their own design,” Sommers ’10 said. The projects “reflect their interests and expertise, and often result in lasting friendships,” she said. This year, unlike in previous years, the event was open to the entire campus.

The ten student turnouts met in the Parrish basement supply rooms at midnight. They split into groups designated with the tasks of cleaning the stairwells, offices, hallways and the ever-glamorous bathrooms. Each of these tasks is usually tackled by one staff member.

The organizers of the event were pleased with the proceedings. “I was very happy with how last night’s event went,” Sommers said. “The best part of the night for me was when we were all hanging out in the staff lunch room after finishing up Parrish 2nd, and Don [Bankston, the night shift leader] started sharing some stories from his many years of work here. He told us about some of the uproarious pranks students used to pull, and different crazy things he would find when he came in to work.”

Bankston, who was in charge of planning Take Your Partner to Work Day, agreed. “Many students seemed to be there because of a genuine interest in the contributions and experiences of Swarthmore EVS staff members, which was great to see,” said Sommers.
Indeed there was much personal interaction to be witnessed between students and staff. One participant, for instance, recalls exchanging life stories with Dave, a poet who recently left the United States Armed Forces.

Poor communication between staff, administration and the student body abounds in higher education today, and the recent and widespread staff strikes at New York University and Yale University serve as striking examples. Take Your Partner to Work Day and the Learning for Life organization seem to be valuable initiatives which engender bonds between staff and students that allow each to empathize with and respect the other’s needs. Undoubtedly, the formation of such personal bonds left students and staff alike a thousand fold recompensed for their hour and a half of labor.

« RETURN TO LIVING & ARTS

« PREV ARTICLE | NEXT ARTICLE »