We, the undersigned students and members of the HKIS community, respectfully request that HKIS provide additional microwaves in convenient, accessible locations across campus.

Many students bring meals from home or purchase food that needs to be reheated. With only one functioning microwave available in a congregated area, students may face long queues during lunch and break periods. This creates significant inconvenience, limits students’ access to their meals, and places unnecessary pressure on the existing facility.

More importantly, a large line of students and faculty members gathered around a single microwave could potentially create a safety hazard. If the queue obstructs walkways, doorways, or emergency exit routes, it may prevent people from exiting the area smoothly during an emergency. This could place the safety and wellbeing of students and faculty at risk. Providing additional microwaves in suitable locations would help reduce crowding and support safer movement throughout the campus.

We believe that additional microwaves would:

1.)Reduce waiting times during lunch and break periods
2.)Prevent large crowds from forming around a single appliance
3.)Help keep walkways and emergency exit routes clear
4.)Make it easier for students to eat meals brought from home
5.)Support students with dietary restrictions or specific meal needs
6.)Improve student convenience and wellbeing
7.)Create a more efficient, inclusive, and safer campus environment

In addition to installing more microwaves, we ask HKIS to establish a consistent maintenance and repair schedule for all microwave facilities. This could include:

1.)Regular safety and functionality checks
2.)Prompt repairs whenever a microwave stops working
3.)Clear procedures for reporting damaged or malfunctioning equipment
4.)Routine cleaning and hygiene inspections
5.)Temporary replacement or repair arrangements when equipment is unavailable
6.)Visible notices showing when each microwave was last inspected
7.)Regular reviews of microwave locations to ensure that queues do not obstruct walkways or emergency exits

Consistent maintenance would help ensure that all microwaves remain safe, clean, reliable, and available for student use. It would also help prevent a situation in which one broken appliance leaves the entire campus dependent on a single functioning microwave.

We respectfully ask the administration to consider installing additional microwaves in suitable locations, such as the cafeteria, starbucks, student common areas, or other high-traffic spaces. We also ask that the administration assess the current microwave area in Starbucks for potential crowding and fire-safety concerns, including whether queues could interfere with smooth evacuation.