麻豆原创

Tariq Simmons used to begin his workday in the basement locker room of Whittier Hall, where he鈥檇 swap his street clothes for a Teachers College Department of Public Safety uniform. 

Simmons still follows that routine 鈥� but since mid-March, when coronavirus began spreading rapidly in New York City, he鈥檚 boarded a mostly empty subway to come to work, and when he arrives, he dons a mask and gloves along with his uniform.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not the new normal,鈥� says Simmons. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 what is normal for right now.鈥�

Facilities Management 鈥渕over鈥� Jose Sanchez ordinarily conducts office relocations for new and established faculty, customizes the multi-functional Smith Learning Theater for different user groups, and reconfigures classroom furniture. He, too, still reports for work, but now he鈥檚 got a new portfolio: Disease prevention. Sanchez and the other 79 members of the Facilities team work daily to disinfect every doorknob, chair, table and fixture across the eight-building 麻豆原创 campus at least twice a day, and more frequently around the few entrances and other areas where a handful of administrators still come and go. It鈥檚 a painstaking process, and the masks and eerie silence don鈥檛 make it any more pleasant.

鈥淭he facilities, public safety and residential life teams are always here. This is what we do.鈥�

鈥� Brian Alford  

鈥淚t鈥檚 sad, because we鈥檙e used to being around other staff and the students,鈥� says Sanchez. 鈥淏ut we understand why they鈥檙e not here. I鈥檓 just glad I can help to make 麻豆原创 a little safer.鈥�

The stoicism of Simmons and Sanchez is typical of the 100-plus 鈥渆ssential staff鈥� who have been reporting to West 120^th street throughout the COVID crisis. While most 麻豆原创 community members work from home, connecting with colleagues via the digital remove of Zoom, Google Hangout, FaceTime and group chats, 鈥渢he facilities, public safety and residential life teams are always here,鈥� says Brian Alford, Assistant Vice President of Facilities. 鈥淭his is what we do.鈥�

鈥淭hese people are the heroes,鈥� adds John DeAngelis, Assistant Vice President for Public Safety. 鈥淭hey put their own safety on the line every day to keep Teachers College running.鈥�

鈥淭hese people are the heroes. They put their own safety on the line every day to keep Teachers College running.鈥�

鈥� John DeAngelis  

A major focus for both groups, as well as for the staff of the Office of Residential Life, is to protect the 400-plus students still living in 麻豆原创鈥檚 dorms.

鈥淭hese students have stayed either because they鈥檙e from another country and can鈥檛 return home right now, or because the dorm is their primary residence, or simply because they鈥檙e afraid to relocate,鈥� says DeAngelis. 鈥淲e provide access control to protect against the virus 鈥� no outside folks coming into the residence halls.鈥� 

Thus far, there have been some 14-day isolations and quarantines in Bancroft, 鈥渂ut all have turned out fine,鈥� DeAngelis says. 鈥淣o one has been hospitalized on a long-term basis. And meanwhile, I think the students appreciate that we鈥檙e here. They鈥檙e comfortable seeing our staff, whose hearts are really in the right place. They want to take care of the students the best they can.鈥�

Of course, an equally important priority is to try to protect the staff members themselves.  

鈥淚n our meetings, we remind everyone to wear gloves and masks 鈥� but we also tell them, 鈥楤e cautious. Don鈥檛 rush,鈥欌�� Alford says.

In addition to providing protective equipment, DeAngelis and Alford encourage team members to drive to and from work if they can 鈥� alone.

鈥淎t least parking is a non-issue 鈥� I鈥檝e never seen this much parking around here,鈥� laughs Public Safety Officer Josue Rosario, who has been driving in from his home in the Bronx.

鈥淎t least parking is a non-issue 鈥� I鈥檝e never seen this much parking around here.鈥�

鈥� Josue Rosario

Rosario has watched over an empty campus before during holidays and other breaks in the academic calendar, but the COVID-19 crisis is different. 

鈥淚鈥檝e been here 20 years,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd I鈥檝e never seen it like this.鈥�

Most people haven鈥檛, unless they lived through the polio scares of the 1940s and 50s or 鈥� much more rarely 鈥� the 1918 influenza pandemic.

鈥淣othing really prepares you for this,鈥� Alford says. 鈥淲e have a business continuity plan, which designates the essential stuff you need to keep doing, but it鈥檚 largely geared to floods, fires, power outages, hurricanes. This is a different situation. Now we have to think about how to clean, what to clean, what鈥檚 the process. So, we鈥檙e talking regularly to people with health expertise 鈥� the CDC, the equipment manufacturers and industry folks. Because what鈥檚 scary is how little it takes for this thing to strike. Just a drop on some surfaces is enough to put you at risk, especially if you have an underlying condition. That鈥檚 really the battle we鈥檙e fighting.鈥�

DeAngelis is similarly engaged in a constant process of risk assessment and contingency planning.

鈥淲e have a representative on Columbia鈥檚 Infectious Disease working group, which meets weekly, and a rep on President Bailey鈥檚 coronavirus task force, and one on [Vice President for Finance and Administration] JoAnne Williams鈥� task force, which meets daily,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e have 28 public safety officers, but right now our staffing is down 25 percent due illnesses. And that really illustrates what our folks are going through and the risks to themselves and their families.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e see a lot of great teamwork, from the president on down, all aimed at making people safe, the best we can.鈥�

鈥� Jose Sanchez

The uncertainties posed by the crisis affect team members in different ways, DeAngelis adds. 鈥淭hirty-five percent of our folks are retired cops 鈥� all the managers and the midnight shift and a couple of others. They鈥檙e used to dealing with higher-stress situations 鈥� facing risk and allocating resources on the fly. Other folks are definitely finding this to be a bigger adjustment. But everyone is also mindful of the need to protect their own families.鈥� 

There is one other upside to the crisis.

鈥淲e鈥檙e see a lot of great teamwork, from the president on down, all aimed at making people safe, the best we can,鈥� Jose Sanchez says. The fact that everyone is focused on that priority says a lot about people鈥檚 loyalty to the institution, he adds. 鈥淭eachers College has always been here for me. And I鈥檒l always be there for Teachers College.鈥�
鈥� Steve Giegerich