It is almost impossible to obtain lunch from the science canteen from 1130 to 1330 hrs, on a normal school day as it is packed with students and hungry workers of nearby facilities, so much so that getting food and a table to sit at, becomes a long ardous wait. Queues from food stores snake around the tables and seats, creating a disorderly mass of people. The two hundred seater canteen has eleven stores and a cafe serving it. Yet, the exodus of lunchtime people stretches the capacity of the science canteen so often that students are known to skip lunch just so as not to have to put up with the torture of having to purchase food from the science canteen. This could be one of the reasons why students are not able to function well in lessons during the course of the day, due to the lack of nutrition. As the main goal of the university is to a provide 'world class' education to their students, it should look into trying to enhance, not just its research facilities, but also help in the facilitation of their students' lifestyles. It is of utmost importance that this problem be resolved as soon as possible.
There are two main reasons behind this problem:
1) The canteen is not big enough to accomodate the increasing intake of students.
2) There are just too many people using the canteen
Thes two reasons see the problem from two different view points. The first sees the problem as being a structural issue and that the canteen should be open to any and everyone. Hence, the solution would be to petition to the science dean, as propose to expand the current size of the science canteen, such that it would be able to accommodate the huge lunchtime crowd. The second point, however, sees it as a social problem. The science canteen, is a facility of the university, provided by the instituition for the students, and making it more convenient for their students to obtain food within the compounds of the university. So much so that the prices of food sold by the stores are subsidised, making it easier on the pockets of students. However, people working in nearby facilities, such as NUH for example, often flood the canteen to purchase the cheap food during lunch hour, resulting in the crowded conditions observed. The proposed solution to the problem would then be to come up with a policing system, such that ONLY students of NUS are allowed to make use of the canteen during lunch hour.
I propose to conduct a simple survey over a period of 5 days, during the weekday lunch hour, in order to obtain a consensus behind the root cause of the problem listed above. By solving this problem, NUS would then be able to make learning a more enriching and comfortable experience.
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Eugene Sim
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- 'I believe that dreams should be lived, company enjoyed, and most of all, water saved by drinking beer.'
2 comments:
I agree that the situation in our canteen during lunch hours needs improvement. It is indeed frustrating to have to wait for so long to find an empty table and then to realise that there is not enough time to eat due to long queues for food.
This topic is certainly relevant and feasible to be studied. However, i think there are many approach to the research question. Perhaps the research question could be "Should the Science canteen be open to the public during lunch time?"
Indeed, a survey can be conducted to find out the reasons that users of the Science canteen identify to be the causes for our packed canteen and to obtain a consensus. From the reasons, appropriate solutions can thus be determined.
Hi Eugene,
The situation that you have described, is a common gripe of many science students. No doubt, not being able to obtain food during the crucial lunch period would have some negative consequences on our academic and physical health.
In the University drive for a world-class institution, it is indeed disappointing that our food facilities are falling way below world class.
Elaine's suggestion, while solving the student's problems, could possibly cause an outcry among the vendors. Their bottomline may suffer greatly with the lack of the working class crowd.
Perhaps it would be prudent to obtain an attitudinal survey finding out whether the Science Canteen should have a long overdue upgrading/expansion. Such would target the root of the problem and necessary actions can thus be taken.
Cheers!
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