High Temps Turn Up the Heat in HoCo

With the recent record-breaking heat wave that hit Durham last week, Holloway Commons is feeling the heat from students as they adapt to the new season.

Due to the 80 to 90 degree weather, HoCo was forced to turn on their air conditioning much earlier than the usual May 15 start date. This year they turned it on at 2:00 p.m. on April 27 in order to allow students to eat more comfortably.

Dining, as an entity, has no control over when the air conditioning is turned on, despite the beliefs of the many napkin note messengers. The energy department makes that decision when to turn on the air conditioning each year.

According to dining employee Michelle Botelho, this decision and its timing can cause potential health hazards.

"There have been times when it has gotten over 100 degrees [at the brick oven station]," said Botelho. "On Saturday and Sunday it was over 110 degrees. They allow us to wear T-shirts and bring in fans, but it gets pretty hot."

The temperatures in HoCo were a hazard to students and professors as well this past weekend, as a philosophy professor fainted while in the dining hall.

"It was fortunate that there was a dining employee behind him who caught him to keep him from falling," said Colette Lepkowski, the assistant manager of HoCo. "We brought a couch from the entrance-way and laid him on it and then called 911, immediately. He had previous health problems, very low blood pressure and felt weak in his knees, and coupled with the heat, it was not a good situation."

As for the students - the most regular consumers in HoCo - a change in diet and motivation to go to HoCo can be seen in the high temperature.

"The heat has definitely affected the types of food I eat," said senior Kelly Priddy. "I tend to drink more water."

Junior Taylor Maroney agreed.

"This weekend I could not eat - I took like three bites of something and had to stop," said Maroney. "The heat in HoCo makes it more likely that I will choose Philbrook or Stillings instead."

Although the menus are pre-set for HoCo, there are some changes in terms of inventory due to the spring season. More beverages are consumed and students more frequently use the salad bar. Products such as milk and soups aren't as popular in the spring, therefore, are purchased less.

HoCo took precautions this past weekend in order to reduce the impact of the heat.

"We shut down some equipment that creates more heat such as the char grill or the brick oven," said Lepkowski. "We also did not open the sizzle or stir fry stations on Sunday. As far as our refrigeration system goes, we had to add more ice because the system was being overworked."

HoCo employees also opted to bring in floor blowers, in addition to their two industrial fans. The floor blowers were set up in the dining areas, whereas the industrial fans were used in the dish room and near the ovens, as those places are the hottest.

When asked if she would have done anything differently this past weekend, Lepkowski said she would have asked her superiors for help.

"I felt ready to close down HoCo due to the heat," Lepkowski said. "Fortunately, students still came in and dealt with it as best they could. But I felt bad, especially with the typed napkin note about the problem. However, in the note they believed the AC wasn't turned on due to a budget crisis, but that had nothing to do with it. We did the best we could."

Lepkowski said she owes a lot to her hard-working staff and their adaptability with the issue.

"I felt bad for my employees," said Lepkowski. "I give them a lot of credit for sticking it out this weekend. They just grinned and bared it."