There are multiple options for food on campus. Well, there are multiple options for most people, that is. While some might argue that the campus cafeteria is perfectly accessible, that isn’t necessarily the case. It isn’t so much the layout of the cafeteria that’s the problem; it’s the volume of people in the space at any given time.
Given the fact that wheelchairs and, especially, powerchairs take up quite a bit of extra space, they are rather difficult to manoeuvre in crowds. This makes crowded spaces awkward and uncomfortable, for fear of injuring someone or spilling a lunch—your own or someone else’s.
It isn’t just the cafeteria that makes things difficult on campus, either.
Given the number of buildings on campus, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are a number of microwaves scattered about campus. One might think that these are a suitable alternative to cafeteria crowds. They would be, of course, if they were within reach of anyone sitting down.
While the cabinets housing the vast majority of the microwaves on campus seem logical in theory, they are rather impractical. The microwaves themselves are situated on the upper shelves of the cabinets while the lower section sticks out to provide a counter on which to prep one’s food.
While the height of the microwaves is the main issue, those in wheelchairs can’t get close enough to them to reach them, even if they were lower. There are two microwaves on regular desks, but these reside in the cafeteria, which, once again, raises the issue of space.
Camosun and the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS), who are in charge of some of these microwaves around campus, could rectify these issues in several ways. They could place more microwaves in other areas, each at a different height. They could even just add more microwaves in the current areas, putting them on the lower section of the cabinets instead of the higher areas.
The crowded cafeteria could be made less crowded by installing a new line queue to be used only by people with access issues; this would help ensure that everyone has enough space to manoeuvre and gather their food without hindering their fellow students.
No matter what Camosun and the student society decide to do, it would be nice to be able to have lunch without it feeling like a monumental task.