Problem: Owned by the OSGA, the 8:10 micowaves have a sanitation issue. If students were to heat up a meal, snack, or drink, they wouldutilize one of 4 microwaves in the 8:10 cafe. Often times, students must wait for a microwave to be available only to find sauce, liquids, or chunks of foodscattered on all four walls of the microwave. At this point, no studentwould want to heat up their food risking food already stuck on the walls to drip into their food. We will use one mechanism or a combination of mechanisms to alleviate the filth issue we see everyday in the microwave.
Solution 1: We would make available cleaning supplies such as wet wipes, spray bottle and gloves forthe microwave cleaning use. Effectively, as students begin to see other students clean or wipe the filth of the microwave after use, they will begin to curve their behavior by modeling other student behavior.
Solution 2: A guest list available for microwave users to sign before using microwave would curve negative microwavebehavior. Because a log tracks who uses the microwave and when it was used, students are less likely to leavefood uncovered or microwave items cooking for too long. Moreover, students are more likely to clean after using the microwave.
Solution 3: Each student at Owen must clean the microwave once per year to fulfill ethics requirement. With as many students as there are days in a year, each student is assigned one day in the year when he must clean the inside of the microwave before 8:00am classes.Not meeting ethics requirement at Owen will bar a student from graduating.
James & team,
ReplyDeleteI think providing students with cleaning supplies NEXT to the microwaves is the best way to go. You might want to provide a plastic lid next to each microwave that students can use to cover their food when microwaving it. This will avoid getting them dirty. Additionally put a sign on the microwave door that says something like you must clean the oven after it has been used. Otherwise it's a violation of the honor code :) I don't think idea 3 would work as there are many students that don't use the microwave at all and would think it's unfair for them to clean them. Idea might fade away as students won't see any reason in writing their names. Go for 1!!!
I like the idea of providing students with the cleaning supplies and reminding them to pick up after themselves. I haven't ever used the microwaves on campus but imagine that many people will leave it like that because there isn't a convenient way to pick up after themselves. If you remind them I feel it will make people more accountable for helping keep the facilities clean for the next person. I'm not a fan of making people who don't use the facilities clean them. If you want to go that route I would suggest having a usage fee and using those funds to tip the janitors for keeping it clean. That said, I feel Owen students would keep it clean if provided the materials to do so.
ReplyDeletefor #2: I am concerned that people that would leave a mess in the Microwave would also be tempted to not sign the loggin sheet. If you could make people swipe their ID cards, that would be more effective way to track it (though may not be feasible).
ReplyDeleteVery creative solutions to a common problems that we all face.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the solutions, I agree with Noah's posting of solution #2. People will simply not sign in on that sheet and leave a mess, so the person who did sign in will get blamed. There is really no way to enforce signing in except for tracking usage by vandy card scan or possibly a cool eye/retina scanner.
Solutions 1 is a nice idea, but I fear that the momentum will die off as time goes on. If there is a way to renew the enthusiasm of cleaning a microwave, then it might work. Otherwise, it could be a waste.
Solution #3 is cool. It would certainly make people pay attention to cleanliness not only to the microwave, but also to 8:10 as a whole. I am not sure that we should attach a punishment to NOT cleaning the microwave...perhaps give a reward for those who DO clean it...a small monetary award or free food from 8:10. Reward might work better here rather than punishment.
I think #1 is the strongest solution. Given the opportunity and the resources, I think students will take it upon themselves to keep the microwave clean. Sure, some people will walk away not cleaning their mess, but it is probably not just one person who makes the mess, rather, a compilation of people and meals the entire week. Therefore, if one person does not clean, someone after them will.
ReplyDelete#2 is a good idea, but I see an easy way to avoid putting your name on the list and heating up your food anyway. Afterall, no one is watching.
#3 is very interesting. This could work but would the school be willing to make cleaning a microwave a requirement of graduation? I think it's a hard sell. However, if the school agreed, I think this would be the most effective.
I like Solution #1. It puts the onus on the actual microwave users. #3 works... but not everyone uses the microwaves, so therefore not everyone should have to clean them.
ReplyDeleteFor solution #2, the problem here is that no one will fill out the guest list when they are in a rush or make a mess. Also, I imagine that most people make a mess when they are in a rush. It would be too easy not to write down your name if you are the person making the mess, and ultimately the problem won't be solved. I don't see the connection between the clean microwave and having an unmonitored list that people won't sign.
ReplyDeleteI like idea #1. It's the most implementable and makes it easy for students to do the right thing. #2 sounds like it may work for a while but people will soon forget. And #3 is downright intrusive, especially for those who don't use the microwave. So go for #1, maybe also add a happy sign reminding people to clean up!
ReplyDeleteI don’t really ever use the microwaves in the 8:10 and now I am really glad I don’t. I like idea 1 the best; if cleaning supplies are present, even if students don’t clean up after themselves, at least they will clean before they heat their food. I think this would definitely help to solve the problem. Idea 2 might help to support idea 1, but I don’t think idea 2 would solve the problem by itself. As for idea 3, I am not sure if it would be possible given the constraints.
ReplyDeleteJames and team,
ReplyDeleteSolution #3 has a problem that will cause a good amount of resistance from the student population, especially those students who do not use the microwaves. Even students who do use the microwaves will reject the idea of being punished on a university level for what most would consider a very small problem.
I think idea #1 is the best because it gives everyone the opportunity to be responsible for their own actions. While I understand your reasoning for sharing the burden and making it an ethics requirement, the students who don't use the microwave would probably not be very happy about cleaning it. I also like the idea of making people sign a sheet to provide accountability but I wonder if people would actually take the time to do that. Maybe this could be a component of idea #1 because you would probably still need to provide cleaning supplies to ensure that people were actually able to clean the microwave if they wanted to.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think #1 will be effective. I don’t think the cleaning supplies would be used without some sort of incentive or punishment. Maybe you could turn it into some sort of class battle (like 100% Owen does for recycling drives) – designate 2 microwaves for 1st years and 2 microwaves for 2nd years and whichever class keeps them the cleanest gets some reward. For #2, I’m concerned that people won’t take the time to sign in since people are rushing to warm something up before their next class or meeting. I think #3 has potential, but is not fair to people who don’t use the microwaves. Perhaps you have to sign up for a shift to clean the microwave in order to be granted access to use microwaves.
ReplyDeleteFor #1, I think that you would need to have someone to lead this behavior to get others to follow suit, I dont think anyone would do it for the first time spontaneously. #2 If there was no monitoring, I don't think anyone would sign the guest list. #3 I think would be effective in ensuring the microwaves are clean, but someone would have to monitor every morning to make sure the microwave actually gets cleaned.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the solutions are very creative and the problem very important. 8:10 is a small business. I'm tempted to say that whoever owns 8:10 should include maintenance and cleaning in their budget and it should be their charge to keep accessories clean. I agree that no one would sign the guest list should that be offered. Nonetheless, leaving cleaning tools in the kitchen may encourage the more Type-A students at Owen sporadically clean out the microwave.
ReplyDeleteI like the first solution. Just to provide another point of view, solution one actually gives people who "care" about a clean microwave the tools to clean. For example, if the previous person using the microwave leaves a mess, I would clean off any remaining food in the microwave before I reheat, because it is disgusting. While this may not be the "optimal" solution(I would complain about having to clean the microwave after people), it would provide those who care with an option.
ReplyDeleteInteresting ideas. I think #1 is the most feasible. From a pure economics perspective, the people who will the microwave clean the most should take care of the mess. As a slob myself, I am comfortable just putting my food over a paper towel and hoping that the remnants of all the other meals do not make me sick. However, a neat freak (or normal person) would definitely be encouraged to clean out the microwave should it be dirty. #3 seems a little excessive. #2, again, doesn't seem like it would work. Why would I sign my name if I was the culprit? Paranoid, big brother solution: buy two defunct video cameras, put wires in the back, have one focused on the microwave and the other focused on the person standing outside, waiting. You are being watched!! (Only us Innovation students will know the secret).Studies have shown this works, we behave better when observed.
ReplyDelete#1 would be the easiest to implement. Since the entire student body doesn't use the microwaves #3 would be tough;and,with #2 if we can forget to clean them, we can forget to sign for them. I think it is worth considering specifically what type of cleaning products to use. Wipes might be best since they require less effort.
ReplyDeleteI think #1 would probably be most effective. When people are in a rush, a log would probably be ignored. I do think, though, that #3 is also interesting. Making students do some kind of maintenance work around the building (including cleaning the microwave) would likely result in people treating the facilities with more respect.
ReplyDeleteI like idea#1 the best. For me, cleaning is more of a habit rather than a responsibility. This idea is just like “the wipe” idea in the gym that has been implemented for more than a decade and proven to be effective. Not all people will clean, but there will be people who will for sure clean. Especially, during the peak time, ie: lunch time, when students normally rush and drip their food every where, the student next in line can serve as “the cop” and remind him/her to clean it. So, a sign reminder to clean the microwave also helps. This is a great idea. On the other hand, idea#2 is too tedious for me and will not be effective; and idea #3 is too relying on honor and the timeframe just does not make sense.
ReplyDelete#1 and #3 are both great solutions. #1 addresses the availability of solutions and #3 makes the cleaning a requirement. #2 is good in theory, but would fall by the wayside as students just want to "microwave something quickly"
ReplyDeleteSolution number 3 would be good because everyone will be held accountable. It would be best if the list for who cleans the microwave each day is public knowledge so that people will not shirk the responsibility for fear of public ridicule.
ReplyDelete