Food served on paper plates after Alumni Hall Dishwasher Breaks
Lottie Walker ‘26
When a school of nearly 900 students and faculty has a broken machine, its news. A few weeks ago on September 9th, I’m sure everyone noticed the difference in silverware. We traded porcelain for paper and glass for plastic. This is all because of the broken dishwasher. An electrical problem that caused safety switches on the machine to need replacing.
“The machine is 22 years old and at some point it becomes inevitable we will have problems we have to deal with. There are supply chain issues and shipping challenges so we are trying to secure the parts we need and get them here,” said Rich Messer, Director of Dining Services.
However, last week wasn't the only time that the machine broke down. Sources say it has continued to break down, but we just haven't had to use paper products again. replacing the dishwasher is not cheap, a new one is expected to cost $100,000 and wouldn't be in use for 6-9 months.
Another thing Messer wants us to keep in mind is to not take for granted the dishes in alumni hall. He said, “Dishes you take out of Alumni Hall are no longer available to you. When you want a bowl for the southwest bar on Tuesday and there are none… think of how many you see in your dorm kitchen and think about getting them back to the dishroom!”
The broken dishwasher taught the NMH community that everyone takes important things for granted sometimes. Messer said, “We take for granted that the staff that makes our meals showed up today, the staff that baked our desserts came in today, that we have the people who wash our dishes showed up today.”
The broken dishwasher can teach our community the importance of taking the time to appreciate our everyday lives and that when we are faced with a situation like this, we have to think on our feet and work hard to create a sense of normalcy in a seemingly adverse situation.
Messer also added, “Let’s not take for granted the equipment that makes our day easier—like the well that gives us water or the electricity that charges our phone—or the people that are here to support us on our journey.”
As a community, NMH needs to appreciate the people who make three meals a day for us. We have to be thankful for what we are given because dishwashers break and we have to rely on people to help us adjust.
