“I was right up in his face, and I insulted him,” said Students With Disabilities Liaison Shaun Stewart, describing an altercation that occurred between himself and Dan Traviss, an Aramark Representative, during the tail end of this past semester.
Aramark is the company responsible for the stocking of all culinary accoutrements at the Capilano cafeteria counters, including condiments, cutlery, and napkins. They also installed a lowered counter specifically for disabled students, the upkeep of which became the crux of a heated dispute, which has continued well into this month. Shaun hopes that a letter he recently addressed to the Food and Beverage Committee, expressing his concerns, will mark the end of the dispute.
The problem began when Mr. Stewart was told by “a few people in [his] committee,” that the wheelchair accessible counter in the cafeteria had been being neglected, with a dearth of condiments hampering some students’ lunch breaks. He commented that “two students specifically told me that they were unable to use the higher counters,” leaving them with no easy way to garnish and consume their edibles.
He investigated the matter himself, and reported that, “they were stocking [the counter] with minimal supplies,” although he did make mention of the fact that, “when [he goes] down there, [he doesn’t] go down until the end of the day.”
“Initially I talked to Dan Traviss,” Sean explains, but “I wasn’t in [Aramark’s] face about it. I wanted to let the system take its course … I wanted to see the progression happen.” He informed Dan, and by extension Aramark, that, he “had seen it sporadically stocked,” yet when no change was evident, he “talked to [Dan] a couple of days later, he sort of took offence.”
Mr. Stewart has reported that the absentee condiments were not provided with the expected regularity until some time after the midpoint of this term. Items such as ketchup and mustard were irregularly provided, or stocked in smaller quantities than were provided for able-bodied students. He commented that he had “talked to Aramark last semester, and this stuff is finally trickling down now, but it’s been a long process, it’s been a long time coming.”
He voiced his remorse about earlier tactics as well. “I don’t want to be adversarial about it, I kind of pushed it…initially, [but] I wanted to be there for my committee.”
Dan Traviss, when contacted by the Courier, declined to comment specifically on past difficulties, other than to say that “some stuff was miscommunicated” last semester.
Traviss stated that he did not know how long it had taken for the problem to be addressed, proffering only a curt “No” when asked.
In addition, he stated the avenues of communication have been streamlined, as nowadays “whatever Lucas is asked for, we put out there.” On the present state of affairs, he stated that, “everything has been resolved now.”
He also commented that “there are times when you think a problem is resolved, and then someone comes and tells you otherwise.”
Lucas Foss, the Students With Disabilities Advisor, stated in an email that he was “afraid that this is now a non issue.” He continued to note that, “as of the first day of classes in September, management has ensured the ongoing stocking of those bins.”
On November 10, Stewart addressed “a letter to the food and beverage committee, through the Capilano Students’ Union … [and] hopefully that’ll be the end of it.”
Among other items, the letter requests that there be “smaller ketchup squeeze bottle[s]…for ease of use for our members,” though to date no such bottles have been provided by Aramark.
In regards to the timeline of these events, the CSU stated in their letter that the negotiations with Mr. Traviss and Aramark had occurred “over the past six months.”
In the words of Mr. Stewart, “if it has been resolved, then I would like to take the opportunity to thank [Aramark] for fixing this problem. Hopefully this semester things will go better.”
//Max MacKay
Writer
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