Clean up Sun Devil Stadium and get $900 for your student organization -- one student group said this deal isn't as sweet as it sounds.
Crystal Cleaning, the organization that ASU hires to clean up the stadium, offers students money for post-game cleanup, which the group says can turn into a daunting task.
"We give them a $900 donation to their fraternity or sorority group," said Ron Potts, operational manager for Crystal Cleaning. "They bring up a minimum of 25 people, and after the game, they pick up all of the big things around the bleachers."
Potts said depending on the size of the crowd and the amount of trash left behind, the cleanup can take anywhere from two to five hours. Seven groups have signed up to do the fundraiser this year, he added.
Katie Scallon, architecture senior and chapter president of the American Institute of Architecture Students, said her group of about 25 people were there until 2 a.m. after the Nov. 6 Cardinals' game.
"We were there for eight hours, and we didn't quite finish," Scallon said. "The fact that the man told me it would take about three to four hours with 25 people was very misleading."
Scallon said she thought stadium cleanup sounded like a good fundraiser after she received an e-mail from the Student Organization Resource Center recommending it.
"We [AIAS] are trying to fundraise for a big conference coming up over winter break, so it seemed like a good way to raise some money," Scallon said.
Scallon said her organization still hasn't been paid, but the operational manager recently ensured them their check was on the way.
"When I called the man to tell him we wouldn't be able to finish, he said we wouldn't get any of the money unless we completed all of it," Scallon said.
They got through almost the entire stadium, with the exception of half of the area where the band sits, she said.
"We probably could have gotten it done, but it became a matter of principle," Scallon said.
Part of the reason it took so long was because one of the employees from Crystal Cleaning kept assigning more tasks to them, she said.
"It was a negative experience for us," Scallon said. "If we had known it was going to take eight hours, we wouldn't have signed up to do it."
Potts didn't deny that it was a lengthy task.
He said usually people don't realize what's involved until they get to the stadium.
"During the USC game, I had one group of about 30 people come up, take one look at it and said 'We're out of here,'" Potts said.
When groups who've committed to the task don't show up or complete the cleanup it puts his company in a crunch, he said.
"It's hard to organize something like that and not have people show up," Potts said.
Potts wouldn't say how much ASU pays them, but said it varies by the number of attendees at the game.
"We charge per attendance," Potts said. "A 50,000-person game is different than a 40,000-person game."
Potts said for larger games, he tries to bring in two groups to split the task.
"The last game we had was the big U of A game," he said. "So I hired two groups."
Reach the reporter at beth.cochran@asu.edu.
