The independent newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis since 1878 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024
VOLUME 145, NO. 18
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Baseball sweeps opening weekend. (Sports, pg 7)
Anthem singer one-ups Fergie. (Scene, pg 6)
Enter this week’s caption contest! (Forum, pg 4)
Changes to dining over break negatively impact dining employees ELIZABETH STUMP STAFF WRITER
Washington University’s dining services underwent a number of changes over Winter Break that many dining workers have said were not communicated well and made their work more difficult. The changes included an unexpected shift rebidding process and alterations to workers’ job descriptions. The University transitioned its dining service provider to Sodexo at the start of the 2023-2024 school year. Andrew Watling, Director of Dining Services, said Sodexo did not finish setting everything up before the school year began. Sodexo then took advantage of the time off over break to make changes to its operations. Watling also explained that once Dining Services readjusted the times of the shifts and changed some of the position descriptions, the dining employees had to rebid for their shifts during the second semester. During bidding, dining workers rank their top three preferred shifts and also indicate which job they want. The bidding is done in order of seniority, so the workers who have been with Dining Services the longest submit for their preferred shifts the earliest. In past years, the workers bid once in August and then kept the same shift for the entirety of the school year. According to Sodexo, employees received a written notification that there would be another rebidding process on Dec. 4, and the rebidding began on Dec. 11. When the rebidding process happened over Winter Break, the workers were familiar with the process itself but were confused about why they needed to rebid. David Cook is the president of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 655. He experienced the confusion from the dining employees about the
ELLE SU | STUDENT LIFE Dining service workers have expressed frustration with the new dining service company’s systems and communication. rebidding process. “There was not an aspect of the bidding that was good,” Cook said. “From any standpoint, in our view, it was a nightmare. From the rollout, the explanation, the implementation, every aspect of the rebidding we deem as flawed. There wasn’t any clarity.” Cook went on to say that many employees have come to the union to express frustrations with the jobs they were placed into after the break. “The reason that the staff are so frustrated is because they didn’t know what they were supposed to be bidding on,” he said. “And then you end up with a whole lot of people in jobs that the company is
saying they bid on, but they didn’t have the understanding of what the jobs they bid on entailed.” A longtime dining employee at the DUC, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of professional consequences, described their confusion and frustration with how unexpected and unclear the rebidding process was for the workers, especially with how the position descriptions were different. “They did not explain any of it,” they said. “When we were looking at the positions, we didn’t know what to pick. I’m a cashier, but there were no cashier positions. So I was like, ‘We either got to take something or not have a job.’”
Another employee at BD, who also asked to remain anonymous for fear of professional consequences, said a fellow worker left Washington University because they did not have enough seniority to bid on their shift early. This led to them getting a shift when they are supposed to be taking their children to and from school. Watling said the rebidding process was necessary since Dining Services had a lot of people working during less busy hours. He said they changed the hours of the employee’s shifts so fewer employees were working during the slow times. Watling also said that communication throughout the
rebidding process was his paramount concern. “I think we always hear feedback anytime somebody doesn’t get exactly what they were hoping for,” Watling said. “Our biggest concern was just to make sure that the process was communicated and that everybody understood what was happening.” Cook, in addition to numerous dining employees in BD and the DUC, said there was a communication failure between lower-level management, who are the people directly overseeing dining workers, and the dining staff during the rebidding process.
SEE DINING, PAGE 3
Sam Fox study abroad students voice concerns about housing issues and administrative response JOEL SWIRNOFF ALIZA LUBITZ JUNIOR NEWS EDITOR STAFF WRITER
Participants in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ Florence Semester Program have experienced issues with their housing arrangements abroad, including strangers entering the students communal apartment, mold, a partial ceiling collapse, and bedbugs. Multiple students studying in Florence, Italy, including senior Ella Jones, have also expressed dissatisfaction with responses to their concerns by individuals managing their living arrangements. “The housing situation was so atrocious, and basically no one was listening to any of our complaints about anything,” Jones said. The Florence Semester Program is Sam Fox’s only study abroad program and operates in partnership with Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA). Courtney Cushard, the Special Programs Manager for Sam Fox, directs the program for WashU and works alongside SRISA Housing Coordinator Anna Maria
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Arosemena to arrange and supervise residential placements for students. “I am dedicated to making sure that the students in Florence have an enriching study abroad experience and I collaborate closely with my SRISA colleagues in Florence to do that,” Cushard wrote in an email to Student Life.
Unfamiliar and Unexpected Visitors Students have reported unfamiliar individuals entering their apartment as recently as Feb. 11. WhatsApp message screenshots obtained by Student Life allege that a man entered the shared apartment, which the students said was locked. “A man suddenly entered the apartment at 3:25 [a.m.] and looked around then left,” said one message sent in the participants’ group chat. Arosemena responded to the message the following morning by telling students they should close doors properly, and call her if there is a similar situation in the future. Students wrote to Arosemena that they were confident the door was closed and requested proactive action from Arosemena in response to the situation. “There is no scenario in which a stranger should ever be able to enter
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our apartment,” wrote one student’s message. “I personally feel like there needs to be action taken in regards to this situation.” Cushard said there are efforts to ensure that students are aware of when workers enter their apartment. “Students in the program now get a notification anytime someone is going to be in their apartment,” Cushard said. “There’s a group chat. Students get a message from somebody to let them know, like, ‘hey, we’re sending over a maintenance person or we’re sending over XYZ.’” Junior Sophia Palitti, who is participating in the Spring 2024 Florence Semester Program for Communication Design, said the apartment has a history of unexpected visitors. She said that workers fixing infrastructure issues with the apartment building occasionally enter the students’ living space without warning, sometimes before typical working hours. “8:30 in the morning, I’m in my pajamas, and there’s three random old men walking in,” Palitti said. “It’s not the most comforting feeling, especially somewhere where you’re living.” Ty Blumberg, a senior
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COURTESY OF SOPHIA PALITTI Sam Fox students studying abroad have faced issues with their living arrangement such as mold on the walls. Architecture major who participated in the Fall 2023 Semester Program, said there were often more than three unfamiliar individuals in the shared apartment at any given time. “There would be groups of people that we assumed to be workers in the building, in the kitchen or in the common space,” Blumberg said. “They would kind of go into the cubbies in the wall and not come out for a while.” Blumberg mentioned one particular worker whose behavior was a frequent topic of discussion
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among students in Florence. “There was one guy people called ‘Mr. Man,’ a stranger,” Blumberg said. “He would just come in and wouldn’t talk to anybody. He would go into one of these closets or storage rooms and close the door, like stone faced, and wouldn’t come out for a while.” Blumberg also said he sometimes encountered unhoused people sleeping in the downstairs area of the apartment building.
SEE FLORENCE, PAGE 3