The microwaves on both Camosun campuses are a bit of a hot potato when it comes to the daily cleaning and maintenance they need, according to the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS).
The maintenance work is divided between CCSS staff and Camosun College custodial workers, but the CCSS says that somewhere in the division communication is lost and students suffer.
CCSS student services representative Michael Glover says that providing microwaves for students is important.
“It’s a necessary resource for a lot of Camosun students, as not everyone can afford to buy food at school,” says Glover.
But Glover has noticed a large number of old microwaves on campus and suspects people have been using Camosun to rid themselves of their old kitchen appliances. Camosun has also installed new microwaves, creating a tricky situation in regards to who is responsible for cleaning what.
“The student society has a small number of microwaves that we are responsible for,” says Glover. “However, the college has installed a bunch of new microwaves, and that’s a whole other job.”
The CCSS and Camosun recently had a preliminary meeting to assess the scope of the issue. It was just the first of many meetings, says Brian Calvert, Camosun’s associate director of facilities.
Calvert says that he’s known for a while that the maintenance of campus microwaves needs direction.
“The college is looking into some way to fix the problem,” says Calvert. “There is still a great deal of work that has to be done.”
A lot of information still needs to be gathered before any solid plans can be made, says Calvert.
“It’s more than just microwaves we have to look at,” he says. “There are all kinds of third-party appliances to take into account, so it’s a big undertaking.”
First year Environmental Technology student John McGoff uses the Fisher building microwave on a daily basis. He says he’s thought about taking matters into his own hands because of the state of the microwaves on campus.
“It would be nice to see them a bit cleaner,” says McGoff. “Sometimes I want to clean them myself but I don’t really know what the protocol is for that.”
Calvert says that the college hopes to have a new management plan and guidelines in place for September.