Marriotts Ridge students have been voicing their complaints about a problem happening in the cafeteria, yet solutions have not been made. The microwaves are frequently used by students to heat up their lunches, but the buildup of food splatters and odors have left students disgusted.
The sanitization has been described as awful and is now creating conflict within the cafeteria, with students now bringing cold foods in order to combat the issue.
“It’s disgusting, it’s nasty and there’s dried up food inside of the microwaves, and it smells terrible. It’s the main reason I stopped using the microwaves,” senior Ellen Kwon stated.
The lack of responsibility among students has contributed to the contamination of the microwaves. Some students have stopped using the microwaves in the cafeteria, due to various reported ‘disgusting odors left from other students.’
“The microwaves just stink, I had to stop using the microwaves. Since they kept making my food taste weird from all the odors inside left from other people’s foods,” senior Rufino De-La Cruz said.
Students are complaining about the microwave’s sanitization, yet they might also be the cause. The problem is most abundant near the end of the school lunch shift, which illuminates the contamination caused by students.
“If other students just used lids to close up their food or tried to clean up after they caused a mess, then the problem would not be this bad. The janitors should not have to clean the microwaves every lunch shift, since they already have a lot of duties,” senior Nick Wagner stated.
Another percentage of Marriotts Ridge students are vegetarian or have dietary restrictions, yet still use the microwaves. These students are often surprised when they open the microwaves and see visible chunks of food leftover from the previous user.
“I am vegetarian and a lot of the time there are meat chunks or meat substances inside the microwave, so it deters me from using it, and it leads to me losing appetite,” senior Utkarsh Mandsaurwale commented.
This further clarifies the need for this issue to be addressed in order to incorporate a more healthy environment for all students.
This problem has been occurring for many years now, yet the problem is still ever present due to the negligence of the students. However some students say that certain microwaves are clean and have found no messes.
“Usually the microwave nearest to the entrance is clean, since administration is right there, but the other microwaves farther away tend to be much dirtier. The line is longer for the one closest to the entrance, but it’s worth it since it’s the only microwave that does not smell,” sophomore Evan Richardson stated.
The cleanliness of the microwaves at Marriotts Ridge comes down to a shared responsibility between students and staff. While students are frustrated by the current state of the microwaves, taking small steps like wiping up spills and working with other students could help alleviate the problem.
