In an attempt to promote social distancing, UW Housing and Food Services has closed half of kitchen lounges in Willow Hall. Unfortunately, the two kitchen lounges are on each end of the building, forcing students on the southwest side of the building to walk the length of the building in order to access a stove or a sink, increasing hallway traffic and the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Whether you are a UW HFS resident, a UW student, living in the Seattle area, or simply care about public health, this is important! If you are a HFS resident at UW, when signing please note your dorm hall (ex. Jane Doe, Willow Hall). 

After negotiation with HFS to find a solution, such as opening the second kitchen lounges, alternate which lounges are open on each floor, or alternate which lounges are open each day, HFS is delaying any action until next quarter while taking into account student feedback.

By signing this petition, help us tell HFS that we care about opening the second kitchen lounges or finding an otherwise suitable solution in Willow Hall (and other halls that may have been affected by similar decisions) to 

1) Reduce the number of residents using a shared kitchen space. By opening the second lounge, HFS could halve the current student density per kitchen lounge.

2) Reduce cross-floor trips and student exposure. By having to make long trips back and forth to the lounge on the other side of the building, students are more often occupying common spaces like hallways.

3) Decrease the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Both by decreasing density in lounges and decreasing time in common spaces like hallways, residents will be at a lower risk for contracting or spreading COVID-19, making living with HFS not only more convenient but safer.

Closing the southwestern kitchen lounge not only inconveniences students who live on the southwestern side of the building and increases cross-building travel, but actually increases the density of students using a shared kitchen space, increasing COVID-19 transmission risk. Alternatively, alternating which lounge is open per floor (ex. southern lounge is open on floor 4, northern lounge is open on floor 5, etc) would have no impact on janitorial workload but would greatly reduce cross-floor traffic.

Currently, students are hindered from basic necessities like making their own food or washing their own dishes. To do so is not only an unnecessary hassle, but an increased risk of infection in the midst of a global pandemic. It doesn't have to be this way.

Sign NOW so that HFS can hear our voice and make the UW dorms, UW at large, and the city of Seattle a safer place to live.