A H A R D I N G U N I V E R S I T Y S T U D E N T P U B L I C AT I O N
@HUStudentPubs Facebook: Harding University Student Publications
2A
NEWS
THE
November 20, 2020 Vol. 96, No. 08
Online at TheLink.Harding.edu
OPINIONS
3&4A
SPORTS
1&2B
FEATURES
3B
LIFESTYLE
4B
Searcy, Ark., 72149
Aramark improves classroom cleaning after previous investigation
Photos by AUDREY JACKSON
Dr. Steve Choate, associate professor of art and design, wipes down desks with disinfectant after his class Nov. 18. University administration stocked classrooms with wipes, disinfectant and hand sanitizer at the beginning of the semester. AUDREY JACKSON head photographer Aramark Facility Services management rescheduled, retrained and hired additional cleaners after a Bison investigation in September found eight out of nine classrooms on campus not cleaned to the standards stated by Aramark and Harding University. A follow-up investigation by this journalist into five randomly sampled buildings on the Harding University campus from Oct. 29 to Oct. 30 found an improvement in the classroom cleaning conducted by Aramark Facility Services. Out of 10 classrooms from five buildings — the Ganus Building, McInteer Bible and World Missions Center, Ezell Building, Donald W. Reynolds Center for Music and Communication, and PryorEngland Center for Science and Engineering — seven classrooms had been thoroughly cleaned by the Aramark night shift employees. Cleaners vacuumed the floors, wiped down
the desks and emptied the trash. The results of the previous investigation by this journalist from Sept. 24 to Sept. 28 found a 11.1% cleanliness rate, while the result of this subsequent investigation was 70% — a 58.9% improvement. Johnny Bell, Aramark supervisor of the night shift which handles cleaning the classrooms, said they had recently restructured the schedule and hired more employees. The night shift now has eight employees, Bell said, instead of five. Bell said he had to fill in for multiple employees this semester due to employee quarantine and isolation, but when fully staffed he was able to focus on supervising and retraining cleaners. “I usually try to work with at least three people every week,” Bell said. “I’ll spend a couple of days with [each employee] and then I will rotate when we have the full staff.” Dr. Laurie Diles, associate professor and chair of the department of communication, spoke with Greg Maples, Aramark facility
director at Harding, in October after she observed cleaning inconsistencies in the Reynolds building. Maples personally came and inspected the building, Diles said, and assigned additional personnel to help with cleaning. Diles said she expected a general level of cleanliness, but was sensitive to heightened concerns from COVID-19. “As a professor during COVID, I knew that some students would probably have greater concerns than usual,” Diles said. “I don’t know that my own concerns are greater, but I feel a lot of responsibility for my colleagues and my students, that they feel like they’re going to a place that’s been cleaned up and is as clean as it can be.” The Harding administration stocked classrooms at the beginning of the semester with wipes, hand sanitizer and disinfectant so faculty and students could personally clean their desks if concerned. Dr. Steve Choate, associate professor of art and design, stayed after his classes and cleaned the desks to help
minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure. “We were told by our new chair, Amy Cox, that it would be the prudent thing for us to clean up after our students had left,” Choate said. “And I’m like most people, I think, in that I desperately want things to be normal.”
Spring Sing to take place April 2021, altering traditions KYLIE ALLEN student writer Directors of Spring Sing Dr. Steven Frye and Cindee Stockstill informed social club Spring Sing directors that the show would go on, April 15, 16 and 17, 2021, rather than Easter weekend. The Spring Sing show — affectionately named “Twice Upon a Time” after the canceled 2020 show “Once Upon a Time” — will be made possible under these regulations: having only 36 people on stage at a time, distancing the audience, wearing masks while performing and practicing under the basic regulations. Any dance numbers that require being within 6 feet of another person can only be practiced for 15 minutes or less. Sophomore Reed Wallace, Spring Sing director of men’s social club Sub T-16, said he is hopeful that the changes will not take away from the overall experience. “While we have some uncertainties moving forward, I believe that we have what it takes to make this a show unlike any other — that no one else has ever imagined to put together during a pandemic,” Wallace said. Spring Sing has been a long standing tradition at Harding, dating back to 1974. Although breaking some of these traditions this year (like having a full audience), these changes are an effort to maintain the spread of COVID-19, while attempting to cling to as many normalities as possible. “The number of people allowed on stage at one time is being limited, and because of that we will be utilizing the video screen more throughout the show,” junior Camille
Overman, Spring Sing director of women’s social club Phi Kappa Delta, said. The changes and adjustments made to each individual show will be executed and supervised by the directors of each social club. These changes will not come without challenges, as the students involved in each show will have to accommodate the adjustments. Junior Hannah Hackworth, Spring Sing Director for women’s social club Pi Theta Phi, shared concerns of the challenges ahead.
While we have some uncertainties moving forward, I believe that we have what it takes to make this a show unlike any other. – Reed Wallace, sophomore
“Every person involved is going to have to be self controlled and vigilant about being distanced from others in order to keep the whole show from being put in quarantine,” Hackworth said. Though each individual show faces new challenges and obstacles along the way, Harding is taking the necessary measures to make Spring Sing possible for 2021.The live audience will be limited to on-campus students, faculty and staff. However, the performance will be available for pay-perview to individuals and groups off campus.
Graphic by ISABELLE CUTTS
In This Issue Flag football to wrap up semester, 1B Faculty look to testing, proctoring methods, 2A
Remembering McLarty’s presidency, 3B ‘Strive to know more,’ 4B