News

Fire damages move services to Spot

All meals will be served in the Spot, located inside the Supertents, while the reconstruction and cleaning at Davenport take place for an additional two weeks. Director of housing and residential life, Julie Thurman-Francisco waits for the preparation of her meal. / photo by Michael P. Bailey
All meals will be served in the Spot, located inside the Supertents, while the reconstruction and cleaning at Davenport take place for an additional two weeks. Director of housing and residential life, Julie Thurman-Francisco waits for the preparation of her meal. / photo by Michael P. Bailey

by Shiva Rahimi
Managing Editor

Reconstruction of Davenport Dining Hall is under progress due to last Friday’s fire. The University has contracted J.A. Bradley Construction & Restoration, to handle reparation of the damages.

The revenue for the reconstruction will come from two different insurance companies. One will cover property and equipment, while the other covers the food and other contents.

Armen Ananian, food services director, said that the cleaning processes have already begun. The dining area, West Dining Room and the Presidents Dining Room will be cleaned due to the smoke damage. The final area to be cleaned will be the carpeting in the dining hall.

Ananian said that the windows are being cleaned inside and out, the deli area is being sanitized by removing smoke particles and odors that have been left over and the plant leaves are being dusted “one leaf at a time.”

Ananian also said that a sealer is expected to be placed on the ceiling and the air-conditioning duct is being cleaned. The purpose for the sealer is to prevent remaining odors from escaping from the vents of the ceiling.

Sheila DeGraw, director of support services, said “We need to completely rebuild the office.” The office, located in the rear of the building, is where most of the damage took place.

DeGraw said that they are reconsidering the format of the electrical wiring in the Dining Hall. This would mean that they would use lighting instead of breakers on the switches.

“The kitchen area is definitely not usable for two weeks,” said DeGraw. The appliances are not going to be replaced, but the area is in need of thorough cleaning due to high amounts of smoke damage.

Since there will not be any cooking in Davenport for the next two weeks, the Claremont Colleges are assisting the University with students’ dining needs, through Aramark Dining Services. They are providing lunch and dinner meals for the University that are being served at the Spot until the reconstruction process is finished in Davenport.

Freshman Dale Gomeztrejo commented on the move to the Spot, “The location has not been that much of a difference, and it is probably even better because it has a TV.”

However other students seemed to disagree.

“The meals aren’t as convenient, and it’s kind of like there’s not as much food to go around,” sophomore Kyle Young said about the meals being transferred from Claremont.

“By the time I get to go to the Spot they are out of food to eat, because they are having to feed the whole school the entire day,” Young said.

Dean of Student Affairs, Loretta Rahmani, said, that this reconstruction should not affect the remodeling of the Spot.

“We are asking for everyone’s understanding, patience, and collaboration,” Dr. Rahmani said.

Staff writer Danny Eckardt contributed to this story.

Shiva Rahimi, Managing Editor
Shiva Rahimi
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Michael P. Bailey
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