Students' experience with SEMO dorm kitchens

Dormitories on SEMO campus have become new homes for many students. Shared facilities, especially kitchens, often become the subject of discussions and concerns.

While residents of some dorms are satisfied with the cooking facilities they are provided, others believe that kitchens require more attention from university staff.

However, director of Residence Life, Kendra Skinner, stated that kitchens are the shared responsibility of students and maintenance. Students are expected to clean up after themselves to leave the kitchen in good condition for the next person.

“This is a shared responsibility. Our custodial staff through ABM has some responsibility for cleaning floors and doing some light cleanup, but the students bear a lot of responsibility in cleaning up after themselves. Cleaning up any messes, throwing away trash and all that,” Skinner said.

It appears that residents of dormitories where students accept this responsibility are more satisfied with the condition of the kitchen.

Pictured here: the kitchen in Merick Residence Hall.Photo by Polina Kondrashova

“I've used it [kitchen] a couple times and I've always cleaned up after myself. But it's always clean every single time I come down here,” Roper said.

Freshman computer science major Pratik Limbu said that even though he is satisfied with the overall condition of the kitchen, sometimes he finds it not clean after other students use it.

“Sometimes the kitchen is kind of dirty. Someone leaves their mess here and there. But overall, my experience has been great. I clean after myself. And I even tried to clean the mess that was left before and try to keep it as clean as possible on my part,” Limbu said.

Pictured: The countertop of Towers East dorm kitchen. Photo by Polina Kondrashova

According to Skinner, the responsibility of students to clean kitchens is not stated in the housing contract. However, this point can be found in the Residence Life handbook.

University staff contribute to keeping shared facilities clean. The maintenance team is responsible for deep cleaning of areas that require special attention.

“We have our custodial staff. We ask them to occasionally help us out because we know that sometimes students are not cleaning up well. People don't know how to clean ovens or microwaves. But first and foremost, we'd like the students to do that to take on that responsibility,” Skinner said.

However, some students still think that more can be done.

Freshman business administration major Trenay Adkins, who lives in Towers West, said that even though students clean up after themselves, there are problems that they cannot fix.

Pictured: The fridge in Towers West.Photo by Polina Kondrashova

Improving the condition of shared facilities is a task that requires effort from both university staff and students.

Director of Residence Life Kendra Skinner said that she hopes that more information about students’ responsibilities will improve their experience in shared facilities.

“We're hoping that some of the increased information that we've been providing, for example, we've put some new signage in the kitchens, including them in a couple of different languages, will help students understand what their responsibility is for those areas,” Skinner said. “We understand that dormitory is their home, but it is a home for many other people as well.”