By: Hana Hoffman, Peak Associate
Can someone please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks it’s very odd that an increasing number of things at SFU are going out of order? I don’t know whether we’re getting closer to the end of the world or if we have a Halloween ghost haunting the campus year-round. It’s November now, but I’m still spooked out about everything.
An ongoing disruption of life at SFU is construction. Sometimes, I wonder how many years I have to wait until I can peacefully walk to class without rerouting due to sudden path closures or increasing my headphone volume due to the noise. What bothers me the most is when they use a machine with a drilling sound that reminds me of all those bad memories at the dentist. That alone gives me toothaches and headaches. SFU, many of us would agree that you look perfect just the way you are and don’t need to be renovated all the time!
Next, how often do you walk into a washroom and see at least one stall with an “out of order” sign? For me, it’s every time. How can that many toilets be malfunctioning? Plus, the “Sorry for the inconvenience” poster is never signed off with any name. That’s a little scary, right? We don’t know who is apologizing for breaking the toilets; it could be the ghost or one of our raccoon neighbours. SFU really needs to set some change aside to hire a detective to investigate. Just once during my four years at SFU, I want to experience walking into a washroom with zero stalls being closed. That way, I can examine the full selection of stalls and walk into the cleanest one that looks just right, or maybe even spend some time in each one.
Also, I have some serious trust issues with vending machines. After seeing plenty of fails where the machine doesn’t give back change or the snack gets stuck on the hook, I feel like buying from the vending machine is a gamble. Even if the machine looks like it’s operating, what if there was originally an out of order sign taped to the window that got blown off?
Similarly, water fountains on campus seem to be struggling to maintain their task 24/7. Even if they’re in order, I wouldn’t say they’re reaching the expectations for us thirsty students. Some of the more modern ones have a part to drink from and a part to fill your water bottle, but in reality, it’s either one or the other that’s actually working properly. Often, only a tiny stream of water comes out, so it takes ages to have a reasonable-sized sip. And I hate to mention this, but I feel very uncomfortable when the water is lukewarm instead of cold. OK, last thing about the water fountains, what do you do when the yellow or red button is on? Does that mean “drink at your own risk?” I never see any of the water fountains have the green light on, so I think it’s clear that no water on campus is 100% fresh.
Lastly, I want to mention that the buses that take us to and from SFU often seem unwell. I understand that everything has good and bad days, energetic and tired days, but the buses’ good days seem to be decreasing. Sometimes, I’m ready to get off, and I press on the bar of the middle bus door, but it doesn’t open, so I have to awkwardly raise my voice to the bus driver so they can hear me and open the door. Quite frequently, the bus is so late that I start to wonder if it’ll ever come or if it broke down on its way. I’m kind of getting worried about all this.
I’m sure many of you can relate to these instances where things at SFU are concerningly falling apart. If this pattern continues, I fear that one of these days, the printing machine will stop working and we won’t be able to distribute The Peak newspapers anymore. So yes, this is a serious mystery and we need to get to the bottom of it immediately!
