Since Asia house co-op opened its kitchen, members of the co-op have been struggling to keep it functional and clean. A lack of refrigerator space and cooking equipment has crippled the co-op from running smoothly. Discussions between members of the Asia house co-op and Residential Life and Services led no where for the co-op since first reports of the difficulties were raised last February. Food continued to spoil and attachments to industrial mixers were yet to be provided for over a year. Members of Asia house co-op and OSCA were told that no money was budgeted for their needs, but when a student recently spoke to President Nancy Dye about the situation, Dye agreed to recommend that a refrigerator be purchased. Although OSCA was finally given a positive response to its concerns, the bottom line remains: student initiatives were ignored by Residential Life and Services.
The time and energy members of OSCA spent to fulfill Asia house co-op's needs were ultimately wasted by Residential Life and Services. If students have concerns about requirements, should they avoid the red tape and utter frustration and go right up to the President's office? The College has an obligation to fulfill their agreement to OSCA under Title II: College Undertakings. Residential Life and the College itself should act responsibly and thus be responsive to student concerns.
Members of Asia house co-op are doing their best to maintain a clean, orderly kitchen. Their needs should be respected and promptly met by the College. Asia house co-op has the largest capacity of all OSCA facilities. The lack of refrigerator space is unreasonable. The College has so far violated its rent contract and ultimately violated the rights of students. The College is legally bound to provide Asia house co-op with additional refrigerators, and it shouldn't take Dye to remind Residential Life and Services of that obligation.
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