The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) recently purchased 12 microwaves and is planning to place them around campus for students to use.
While the locations have yet to be finalized, the microwaves are expected to be placed in most academic buildings, including Richcraft Hall, the Loeb Building, and the Canal Building.
CUSA president Fahd Alhattab said he believes the microwaves are a good investment and address something that students have been asking for.
“Lots of students said it during our Student Union Building consultations, ‘Hey can we get microwaves,’” Alhattab said. “This is something we can do without a building . . . [and] it was mentioned on the campaign floor last year as a promise to have more accessible microwaves.”
Alhattab said the microwaves are expected to cost CUSA approximately $6,000 for purchasing and maintenance this year.
“There’s a dual cost—there’s a cost of the actually purchasing of the microwaves, and then there’s the upkeep and cleaning costs,” he said. “Cleaing costs are about $11,000 for the year, but the University has agreed to split it with us, so we’re paying $5,500.”
“We bought the microwaves, they were $600 total, we got them at a really good deal,”Alhattab added.
CUSA originally looked into maintaining the microwaves themselves, but it was determined to be too costly, according to Alhattab.
(Map by Drew May)
“We don’t have the infrastructure for it. There’s already cleaners doing those same areas, and you just add a task on to [their task lists],” he said.
Shawna Martell, a fourth-year psychology student, said she thinks adding microwaves around campus is a good idea.
“What took so long?” Martell said. “The only microwave location I know of is Loeb . . . it’s very inconvenient to have to walk up there every time I need to warm up my lunch.
Martell also said she rarely brings food to campus because warming it up is such a hassle, but adding more microwaves could change that.
Tess McDonald, a fourth-year law student, agreed.
“It would be great to have a microwave in every building on campus because the lines to use the existing microwaves are too long to wait for in between classes,” McDonald said. “Having accessible microwaves would allow more students to eat healthier and save money by bringing meals from home.”
