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Western’s best-kept food secret The Green Leaf Cafe is open for business >> pg. 5
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Friday, October 4, 2013
Volume 107, issue 19
Messy microwave leads to hot pursuit One journalist, one microwave and one huge mess
Midori Kuwahara Gazette
Kaitlyn McGrath Associate Editor Students zapping their lunch in the University Community Centre are dealing with a hot mess. With hardened food residue caked on the interior walls and a rank smell unleashed with the opening of the door, the conditions of the microwave in the UCC are certainly disgusting and students are upset about it. The microwave, located beside a stairwell in the basement of the building, is currently the only one available for student-use in the entire building. Fourth-year foods and nutrition student Natalie Bolichowski packs a lunch every day and came across the microwave on her first day of school. She said its state immediately appalled her, but due to the
lack of microwaves, she had to use it. “It’s disgusting. It’s not cleaned, it’s un-sanitized,” she said. And while it’s no secret the microwave needs to be cleaned, the real mystery is who should be cleaning it. Both Hospitality Services and the University Students’ Council denied owning it. In fact, Kevin McCabe, associate director of hospitality services, was unsure where it was even located. “It’s certainly not ours and not controlled by us at all,” he said. Jas Irwin, USC vice-president of communications, also said the USC does not own it. For a month now, Bolichowski has continued to pack her lunches and use the basement microwave, which she says often attracts a lineup of students waiting to heat their meals. Bolichowski said despite the microwave’s condition, a hot
homemade meal is important to her. “I’m not going to confine to cold lunches everyday. If you have a protein, like meat, you’re not going to eat it cold,” she said. “I need to microwave my food and I need to have variety, I need to have extra nutrition. I’m in school to be a dietician and I feel like a balanced meal with variety is important.” On Thursday afternoon, The Gazette observed how many students braved the conditions of the microwave. Between 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m., a total of 13 students heated their lunches in the microwave. Many of those students expressed concern over its unsanitary condition. One of those students was Kristen Haisman. The third-year kinesiology student heats her food there two to three times a week and was unimpressed with the situation
inside the machine. “It is disgusting. Who knows what’s in that? It’s caked on meats and cheese, that’s what it looks like,” she said. Students were also upset about the lack of UCC microwaves. The microwaves previously located in Centre Spot last year were removed to make room for seating, according to McCabe. “I was led to believe that the students’ council put microwaves into the Mustang Lounge, which then did not necessitate a need to put any microwaves back into the UCC Centre Spot,” McCabe said. But this year the two microwaves the USC bought for the Mustang Lounge have also gone missing. Irwin said she had no idea what happened to them. “I remember noting their absence,” she said. “I was away for
a couple weeks this summer from April to June and I noticed that they were gone when I got back.” Given the lack of microwaves, Irwin said the USC would look into replacing them, but safety concerns must be looked at first. “If students want something, of course, we’re going to look into it. The primary concern to my knowledge is student safety,” she said. “Because it is quite hard to maintain them, and because there is such high traffic, there is a potential issue in terms of the cleanliness [and] in terms of what exactly is being microwaved.” As for Bolichowski, she’ll continue to pack her lunch and hopes the microwave situation in the UCC can be improved. “That’s where a lot of students go to eat, so it would just make sense.”
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