Most students and faculty spent last week in their dorms and houses, but the essential workers on Harding\u2019s campus remained hard at work throughout the winter storm, which occurred Feb. 11-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Director of Public Safety Craig Russell, most of these employees work with public safety, physical resources or dining services. Those that are not considered essential stayed home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my responsibilities that make me essential,\u201d sophomore Daniel Wolfe, student worker for the Department of Public Safety (DPS), said. \u201cSo through Public Safety in particular, I\u2019m in charge of locking buildings, [and] I\u2019m in charge of answering phone calls and making sure people can get in their cars and vehicles. I\u2019m the one that will brave the snow to help jumpstart your car and dig you out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DPS operates all day, every day of the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn Public Safety, they know that if we\u2019ve got an emergency we\u2019re supposed to contact our supervisors to see what is needed and how [we can] help,\u201d Russell said. \u201cPhysical Resources \u2014 especially when we have weather like this \u2014 at least a portion of their team is considered essential.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many campus employees who work in the cafeteria did not go home last week because of the road conditions, and they instead spent the night at the Heritage Inn at Harding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI live 25 miles [away], and I\u2019m not comfortable driving,\u201d Sylvia Baker, who works in Chartwells\u2019s allergen department, said. \u201cAnybody that [stayed] and [worked] during the snowstorm \u2014 they [gave] us a room upstairs in the hotel to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russell said that because many of the essential workers are required to work when the rest of campus is closed, they are able to take paid time off at a later date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOther employees typically would be off with pay, [but] if an essential worker has to work, then they basically get that same amount of time off with pay some other way,\u201d Russell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The University\u2019s Physical Resources Department had additional tasks to complete after the winter storms caused pipes to burst in many campus buildings and the roads and sidewalks to be covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey [had] people out very early in the morning putting salt down on sidewalks, doing their best to kind of make it as safe as we possibly [could] for students even [though we weren\u2019t] having classes because students [would] continue to go to the cafeteria,\u201d Russell said. \u201cBecause, you know, the students [had] to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harding\u2019s essential workers adapted to the lack of equipment and worked to keep the campus as safe as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would love for a snow plow, if we\u2019re being honest, but [we did] the best that we [could],\u201d Wolfe said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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