Thirteen new microwaves are in the process of being installed across campus, courtesy of the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) and Facilities Management and Planning (FMP).
The project, led by CUSA, has been in the works for several months. According to CUSA president Zameer Masjedee, the new microwaves were purchased last year in response to student demand, however he said CUSA has experienced unexpected difficulties in implementing them.
Masjedee said CUSA and FMP have agreed to an even split on most of the costs, the exception being that of the microwaves and any future replacements, which CUSA is solely responsible for. Masjedee said the totals equal approximately $1,300 for the tables, $650 for the microwaves, $5,000 for the electrical installation, and $13,000 annually for cleaning which will be conducted once daily Monday to Friday by the existing custodial staff.
Overall, the project will cost approximately $19,950 in total.
Masjedee said first, locations for the microwaves had to be selected before being approved by FMP.
Kevin Gallinger, Carleton’s director of maintenance services and CUSA’s point of contact with the university for this project, said the microwaves had to meet safety requirements.
“You can’t [for example] put a table and a microwave in the middle of a fire lane,” Gallinger said.
Once this step was complete, CUSA had to complete the part which, according to both Gallinger and Masjedee, has taken the most amount of time: procuring tables.
“It took a while to determine which tables they wanted to buy and go and source those,” Gallinger said.
Masjedee added that having the tables built and shipped to the school also took time.
According to Gallinger, CUSA and FMP also had to organize the electrical work required to power the new microwaves.
“Pretty well every location needed [a]new power supply,” he said.
Although an electrical contractor has already been hired, Gallinger said the microwaves’ installation has been delayed until the height of the tables is determined, so that the contractor will know how high to place the outlets.
The news of additional microwaves relieved some students who said they have become disillusioned by the wait time spent in lines for the few existing microwaves on campus.
Justine Brooks, a first-year human rights student, said in an email that she has brought chilled food with her to Carleton once before, but said she quickly found the microwave line-up “very annoying.” Brooks said she was glad CUSA was introducing the new appliances and added that she would prefer to continue bringing home lunches if the wait times decreased.
Steve Tremblay, the mechanical supervisor at Carleton’s Science and Technology Centre, said the centre currently services seven microwaves available to students on campus. He said there are three in the University Centre and two located in Loeb Building and Steacie Building respectively.
An end is in sight for the lengthy project, Masjedee said, predicting that the microwaves will be ready-for-use in late October or early November.
—With files from Naomi Librach
Graphic by Mariam Abdel-Akher
