Canteens Striving to Serve Students on Campus

Farhat Ghantous, Wadih Abi Hanna, and Youssef Bitar are familiar faces that AUB students,

from all majors, have known for many years. These people have served the student body just as parents serve their children with plenty of warmth and a smile on their faces.

Outlook had a warm talk with these people while they served student and staff customers and prepared food for them.

Farhat Ghantous works alone in the Engineering milk bar, baking croissants and preparing sandwiches for the students. A fairly quiet atmosphere at times, but, as Farhat said, "some 20 students would attack all at once at some times during the day."

Farhat finds it difficult working by himself and tries diligently to cope with the pressure. "I have been working here since this milk bar was first opened in 1992. I had somebody who used to help me, but then I was told that the Main AUB Cafeteria is short of employees and so they had to transfer my helper," Farhat explained.

Farhat feels that it is unfair to be alone operating the Engineering milk bar. He prepares food and also works on the cashier box at the same time.

The milk bar opens at 7 in the morning and closes at 2:30 in the afternoon. Some engineering students find the closing time inconvenient. Mohammad Shahab, a Computer and Communication Engineering student, complained that his laboratory sessions usually end after 2:30 and so he is forced to go up to the upper campus for lunch.

The milk bar serves a limited variety of food. Farhat explained that there is no proper ventilation for frying or grilling food.

This lack of food variety is the reason why engineering students end up at the upper campus in order to have a meal at the Main Cafeteria or even outside the University.

Ziad Seoud, a second year Mechanical Engineering student, believes that "if the University installs a cable for the television set in the cafeteria, this would attract more students."

The kiosk at the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences appears to be a more active site at all times. Students, mostly those majoring in Sciences, rush to the kiosk and ask Wadih Abi Hanna for coffee, croissant, or man'oush.

The kiosk offers a much wider variety of food. It recently introduced a new menu offering grilled brochettes, kafta, and makanek at very low prices ranging from LL2,000 to LL2,500.

Wadih agreed to talk to Outlook but requested to talk while he is working. Wadih works all alone in the kiosk, baking, grilling, frying, preparing sandwiches, cleaning vegetables and fruits, serving, and working on the cashier box. He reports to the Main AUB Cafeteria by six in the morning and works until three in the afternoon. Another employee takes over the kiosk until 10:00 p.m.

An old man, who after about six years will reach his retirement age, Wadih confessed, "I am getting tired." He has to unchain about 20 plastic tables and station them with their chairs in front of the kiosk every morning. "This kind of job needs an employee by itself," Wadih said.

He claims that he had asked the administration to install stationary tables and chairs in order to facilitate the work for him.

"The canteen was not designed initially as a food kiosk. There is no space for me to move around and there is no serving line," Wadih said. As students come out of classes, they flood at the kiosk all at once and Wadih can barely keep up with their demands.

"This kiosk provides services like a cafeteria, yet there is only one person operating it," Wadih added. Wadih has been working in the FAFS kiosk since 1995 and students like having him there. "He represents a tradition for us here in the lower campus," some Biology students said.

The Director of Business Services and Risk Management, Azmi Imad, was glad with what the lower campus kiosk offers from the variety, quality, and low prices of its food. He also believes that not only students benefit from its services, but also the families of the faculty members that reside on Campus are regular customers of Wadih's.

In spite of such optimism from the administration's side, the issue remains that of the extra work load and pressure those workers face as they toll alone in their canteens. In addition, having an employee work with food and then operate the cashier box raises many sanitary concerns.

While Wadih Abi Hanna and Farhat Ghantous boldly spoke to Outlook, Youssef Bitar at West Hall's kiosk was relatively calmer. He simply explained that everything he needs he gets from the Main AUB Cafeteria. "I bring the sandwiches and croissants from the Cafeteria so I do not prepare anything here except coffee," Youssef said.

Youssef seemed to have no problems with him running his kiosk alone. Despite the strategic location [why is it strategic?] of Youssef's kiosk, it does not offer much food variety. However, Youssef has his regular customers who ask for coffee, cheese sandwiches, and croissants especially in the morning.

The problem remains here with the shortage of employees operating the various food services at AUB. Until the administration finds a solution for such shortage, employees, like Wadih and Farhat, will continue to endure the work load by themselves.