Housing staff are working to maintain a safe environment for students living on campus.
Casey Kreger, director of housing and student life, said housekeeping in shared spaces has increased.
“In the past, housekeeping would have gone through a lobby once a day, but now you will see them in the building two or three times a day to clean those spaces and do a deep cleaning,” Kreger said. “You’ll also see them doing hot spots once an hour: elevator buttons, door handles or any of those really high tough areas like stairwells or railings. The laundry rooms are the same way.”
In addition to more frequent cleanings, Kreger said the university has invested in new tools to help keep shared spaces clean.
“During the term, you will see different equipment that housekeeping will be using. More than just sanitation spray and things like that, but they will be using different products and equipment that was purchased to be able to add a new degree of cleaning that we haven’t done before,” Kreger said.
Students are also responsible for keeping shared spaces sanitized, Kreger said.
“There will also be cleaning supplies in those spaces as well to give students the opportunity to wipe down those machines with disinfectant spray and paper towels before and after use, and making sure they’re being responsible citizens as well,” he said.
Masks are required on campus and in shared spaces at all times. Housing officials encourage students to social distance in highly populated areas, in addition to taking the stairs rather than elevators if they are able.
Kreger said residence halls with shared air systems have received new filtration systems. These spaces will have higher Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values ratings, which measure an air filtration system’s efficiency.
“You have Banning, Methodist and Cokesbury. All of those specific student units have their own filtration system within their own unit, so they don’t have a system where they are re-circulating that air,” he said. “When you see Methodist hallways or Walker hall, those areas will receive higher MERV ratings, and as you go up in level, they catch different viruses and bacteria. Those spaces will have the higher-level category of filters to catch those viruses.”
Kreger said housing will also utilize ultraviolet lighting to help kill bacteria.
Olivia White, acting senior and Methodist Hall RA, said to avoid over-exposure, resident assistants in Methodist will conduct just two room checks this semester.
“When we do room checks, the resident doesn’t have to be present, or if they are, we will both be masked,” White said. “In addition, if they want to be the one to personally touch their fridge and cabinets when we open them, they can do that.”
Kreger said students must do their part and hold each other accountable.
“Students in the community have to be responsible citizens during this period. One person’s actions do impact everyone in that area,” he said. “When it comes to the individual student units, have clear expectations with roommates. Talk about ‘who’s cleaning this’ or ‘what’s our cleaning schedule going to be’ and have that be a strict schedule within the space. Have those conversations and set those boundaries with each other.”
Kreger said he encourages students to buy their own cleaning products and equipment and help remind others to stay safe.
“When it comes to enforcing policies such as the visitation policy or mask policy, if you approach someone who’s not wearing a mask say ‘hey, do you mind wearing a mask?’ he said. “If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, let housing know, and we can follow up with that to be able to educate that person on our policies.”
Kreger said it is crucial for students to follow safety protocols.
“At this time, our measures are really serious, and we want our students to follow that, especially mask ordinances,” he said. “It’s not just a university policy, that’s an actual Oklahoma City policy. Everyone needs to wear a mask.”
Kreger said housing staff is hanging signs in residence halls and shared spaces to remind students of safety guidelines.
“As much as we want to help support students and encourage students to follow our policies, we also just need to rely on our students to be aware of their surroundings and be willing to have those tough conversations with their peers, so we can help hold each other accountable in this time when our community needs to be the closest,” he said.
Kaleigh Huser, music junior, is a new resident of Cokesbury Court Apartments. Huser said she is working to keep her interactions at a distance and her social circle small.
“I’m just staying by myself, not interacting with people,” Huser said. “I live in a quad, but we only have three right now. We’re mostly staying in our bubbles and not going out. Mostly we just wipe things down and wash our hands.”
Fabius Bascon, acting junior and Walker Hall RA, said housing is working overtime to make sure that they are doing all they can to keep the students safe.
“I think at the end of the day, we need to remind people to follow the guidelines set in place to prevent outbreaks,” Bascon said. “Please talk to your RA if you are have feelings of isolation or loneliness. We truly are here to help the students in every way possible, and we want to give them the resources to succeed.
For questions, students can contact housing and residence life at 405-208-6363 or residencelife@okcu.edu.
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