[blockquote source=”by cathayinn July 20, 2010, Urban Dictionary”]
When someone becomes irritated, angry, or cranky when they haven’t eaten and are hungry.
Allen: I hate you and I want to punch you.
Randy: Why are you so angry with me?
Allen: I’m sorry, I haven’t eaten since breakfast so I’m just hangry, bro.
by cathayinn July 20, 2010, Urban Dictionary
[/blockquote]
Although the term “hangry” is normally used to invoke hilarity, the lack of available microwaves on the Ryerson campus has created a significant demographic of hangry people. I know this because as someone who sits at a customer service desk in the Student Services hallway of the Podium Building, I am usually the one who bears the brunt of their outrage.
The issue of missing microwaves occurred once before during my time as a work-study student for AskMeRU. At the time, I joked with my colleagues that it was the “Mass Exodus of Microwaves.” Then one day, a bunch of shiny new microwaves appeared on campus, bringing an end to the microwave crisis as well as the mob of hangry Ryerson students that swarmed the desk every afternoon between twelve and four.
It is now June. The campus, while significantly less busy, still sees a healthy number of bagged lunch-toting individuals during the week. The first few weeks back at the desk were peaceful and quiet—the questions asked revolving mostly around the location of the Undergraduate Admissions office. Until suddenly, the hangry mob returned with a vengeance.
At first, seeing that the microwave in POD 60 had again disappeared, I redirected them to the lounge across from the Hub. When that disappeared, I sent them to the Tim Horton’s kiosk in Kerr Hall West. Eventually, it got to the point where I had to explain to a woman who visited the desk last week that there were simply no microwaves in this building. “Great,” she snapped and stormed off.
In all honesty, I am growing weary of the inevitable question, because it is impossible to answer in a way that is satisfactory to the person asking. Hoping to get to the bottom of this, I contacted the Food Services hotline and spoke to Mel, who was both incredibly pleasant and informative, despite the apprehension she shared with me about the dreaded “microwave question.”
Not only did Mel tell me where the nearest microwave was, she also presented me with an interesting back story regarding the campus microwaves. You see, no one really knows where the microwaves originated from. They more or less mysteriously appeared on campus and Food Services assumed the responsibility of maintaining them. However, when the microwaves started overheating (due to uninterrupted use), it became apparent that no one was formally responsible for them. What Food Services did know, however, was that since the microwaves were breaking at rapid speed, it was a hefty expense to keep the divine appliances on campus.
In fact, the campus microwaves were replaced eight times between September 2014 and March 2015. Mel told me that she even donated a microwave to the cause. To address this issue, Food Services has written a proposal to Janice Winton, the Vice President of Administration & Finance, to take formal ownership of the microwaves. As per the question of microwave sustainability, they are looking to acquire medium-duty microwaves with higher wattage, which can be used up to 150 times per day. Until then, try the Student Campus Centre. It’s currently your last standing hope for heating up last night’s ravioli.
