CREDIT: ERIKA FAUST
Some students disgusted by the unwrapped utensils available in the Oasis restaurant.

Dear Editor:

The Oasis, from what I understand, is a non-profit division of the Fanshawe Student Union. Every day, hundreds of students come pouring in for their meals of the day. A large variety of food is available, both healthy and hearty. Although the prices are high, I feel that the money collected is returned to the students in various ways around the school and in the community.

This is my third year at Fanshawe College. I love the school, the people, and the programs. I also enjoy getting a delicious Western skillet in the morning to start my day.

At the beginning of September, I had ordered my first Western skillet of the year, and although I was upset at the increase in price, I smiled when I paid and hurried to grab my fork and knife to enjoy my breakfast with my friends.

What I came across absolutely disgusted me.

The utensils available for students to use were no longer packaged. Instead, they were openly available, separated by category. This means that the fork I used to carry my food, or the knife I used to cut my food, was likely touched by others and potentially contaminated.

I am not a germaphobe, but I am educated. When people sneeze or cough, tiny droplets spread through the air and can settle on hands and, eventually, on surfaces. Once these surfaces are contaminated, they act as a reservoir for organisms to live and multiply. An individual can become sick by coming into contact with the contaminated surface, and the organism is said to be indirectly transmitted. This is why sneezing or coughing into your upper sleeve is important. This is why hand washing is important. The global agenda is to prevent the spread of infection.

By having all of the utensils exposed to the hands of any of the hundreds, a major health concern has been created. The plastic pieces that enter our mouths have the potential, and the likelihood, to act as a one-way ticket for organisms to enter our bodies.

Our immune systems can help with the battle against these organisms, but for antibodies to work, the immune function must be intact. With the changing seasonal temperatures and the stress of school, immune function can be impaired, and individuals are more susceptible to infection. This is particularly applicable during the transition into October.

We must do something about this issue immediately. If we have 15,000 full-time and 40,000 part-time students touching each other's utensils during times of cumulative low immune function, there is a huge risk for a lot of people to get sick. Even if all of these students had perfect immune function, by placing utensils in such an unsanitary manner, the risk of indirect transmission increases exponentially.

Since the Oasis (a division of the Student Union) is non-profit, and the money is going back to the students, let's start by paying the extra money to prevent mass sickness. Package the utensils.

Derek Meerburg
Primary Care Paramedic Program
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.