'Princeton University is a different world'

In an alternate universe, Rosel Cherubin would be a lawyer.

Cherubin, a lead janitor for Building Services, came to the United States with his parents in 1985, when he was 23. Though he had been attending law school in his home country, his family chose to leave after political unrest engulfed Haiti.

"I would be more than a lawyer by now," Cherubin said.

Instead, Cherubin is one of a number immigrants, many of them fellow Haitians, who mop bathrooms and clean stairways in dorms across campus. The workers — many of whom, including Cherubin, also work additional blue-collar jobs — say economic opportunity is the main reason they came to the United States. But they work long hours just to make ends meet.

Cherubin works 80-hour weeks, arriving on campus each morning after completing an eight-hour janitorial night shift at the Hamilton Township education board. He is a working supervisor in the junior slums, a job that involves cleaning Henry Hall and other dorms.

Though the job might repel some, Cherubin said he doesn't mind the more distasteful aspects of it, such as cleaning up messes left from student parties. "When you accept that job, that comes with it," he said. He added that he doesn't care what his job is, as long as it improves life for his family.

Rick Clugston, manager of dormitories at Building Services, described Cherubin as "a real pleasant employee" who deserves recognition for working hard to satisfy students' needs. "He's just a very conscientious, good-natured gentleman," Clugston said.

Cherubin's work schedule leaves him just the weekends and seven hours each afternoon to sleep and spend time with his three children. Though his wife also works, the two cannot manage to save up money after paying their mortgage and family expenses. "I spend all my money," Cherubin said. "I spend it before I even get it."

But he does not worry about finances, he said, adding that he cares more about his family and his other ambitions. For example, he said, he hopes to write an autobiography. When asked if he thought his children would go to college, he said they would, nodding confidently.

"Nothing can stop me from where I'm going," Cherubin said. "I always like to go to the hard way instead of taking shortcuts."

Cherubin's career path after coming to the United States took several turns. After working at several hotels in Princeton, where he eventually rose to a supervisory position, he worked as a bus driver while trying to finish his law degree at Mercer County Community College. The demands of his work and the cost of tuition, however, forced him to quit the degree program.

Though he was disappointed, Cherubin said he was unfazed by having to abandon his dreams of courtroom work. "I try to move on with my life," he said. "I don't ever look back." He added that he still tries to stay informed, sometimes reading international affairs articles he finds discarded by students.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Since he started working with Building Services nearly seven years ago, Cherubin said, he has only had "good relationships" with students, whom he called his teachers and family. Some have asked him for advice, and as a native French speaker, he has helped others with their French homework. Students sometimes see him as "a brother," he said.

Cherubin expressed no resentment that most students at the University come from a far different economic class than he does. "I don't have a problem with rich kids or poor kids," he said. "To me, it means nothing." He added that he thought Princeton students would create "policies to help [working people] out" when they fill society's leadership positions.

He added that, because of their education, students will not have to work as hard as he does. "Princeton University is a different world," he said.

Though Cherubin puts in long hours to support his family, many residents of his home country face far more dire straits, with United Nations statistics showing that more than half of Haiti's population lives on less than $1 a day. From 2000 to 2005, over 14,000 Haitians sought amnesty in the United States, the second-highest number behind China, according to statistics from Syracuse University.

The country's economic difficulties stem in part from political turmoil. From 1971 to 1986, it was ruled by dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, who fled the country in the face of U.S. pressure and popular uprising. The government subsequently collapsed, and Haiti has experienced political turbulence ever since.

Cherubin and his family fled the country the year before Duvalier went into exile but not before they felt the consequences of the dictator's authoritarian government. Cherubin's father, a lawyer and judge, was imprisoned after a "setup," Cherubin said, which contributed to their reasons for leaving.

Though Cherubin used to return to Haiti annually, rising bills now consume too much of his income, he said.

When he first came to the United States, Cherubin said, he found it as beautiful as his home country, but he still misses Haiti. He said he would rather live in a French-speaking nation — Haiti, France or Canada — but "it's too late now."

Nevertheless, he added, he is not discouraged by his current life. Though he called himself a "simple guy," Cherubin stressed that he is "not weak."

"I know what I stand for," he said. "And I know my pride. I know my value."