CHRONICLE 16-17 ISSUE 02

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 11 - 17, 2016 The Chronicle 3
Construction ‘pain’ for campus
Dan Koehler
The Chronicle
Road construction continues to
bring a traffic headache around
DC and UOIT.
But drivers with road rage should
get relief by the end of the month.
The completion date for the Simcoe
Street North construction taking
place in front of Durham College
and UOIT has been pushed
back until the end of October, according
to the Region of Durham
works department.
The region says the delay comes
after unforeseen gas mains forced
a redesign of the project.
The construction, which focuses
on improving traffic flow, has
caused lane reductions on Simcoe
Street North near Conlin Road and
part of the intersection to be shut
down. The result has been delays
for students and faculty during the
morning and afternoon rush hours.
Even Durham College president
Don Lovisa is feeling the effects of
construction.
“I live five minutes from here,
but it took me 20 minutes to get
home the other night which typically
takes me less than five minutes,”
Lovisa said.
This is the fourth straight year
there has been construction near
the campus and Lovisa has noticed
an increase in frustration.
He has advocated to the Region of
Durham for different construction
times and accelerated work.
“No one is working on Saturdays
and Sundays or evenings, and in
my view they should be,” said Lovisa.
The construction has become
Jenn Amaro
The Chronicle
On that short break during a lecture
at Durham College, students
with growling stomachs get a
glimpse of hope - there’s a short
window of time for food. Your
mood begins to improve on the
race to the Marketplace. But of
course, as soon as you arrive, the
line has looped around the Marketplace
destroying any potential to
make it back on time.
That’s when the tables turn.
Your blood begins to boil in your
veins, your stomach grows a little
bit louder every second. You could
very easily lose your temper at the
slightest annoyance. Yes, that’s
right, you’ve reached the ‘hangry’
level.
Luckily for all students and
teachers at Durham College who
go through this stage on a regular
basis, Mark Scattolon and Fabion
Raso have come up with the solution.
There is now an application
available on your phone to order
and pay for your food ahead of time
from your device and simply pick
it up when it’s ready – avoiding the
line altogether.
Ladies and gentlemen, its time to
download the Hangry app.
In November 2015, Scattalon
and Fabion, from Hamilton Ont.,
Construction on Simcoe St. N. just south of the Conlin Rd. and Simcoe St. intersection is causing traffic headaches.
such an inconvenience that Lovisa
has been forced to meet with
community leaders at the Whitby
campus who refuse to travel to the
Oshawa location.
He has pitched ideas to the region
about how to reduce traffic
congestion but to no avail.
“There’s nothing we can do right
now except advocate for change.”
Patrick Stephens, a Durham College
student in the project management
program, has also felt the impact
of the construction.
“It can be really inconvenient
sometimes, especially when I’m
going straight to class from work
during rush hour,” he said.
He understands that work needs
to be done but wonders why more
of it wasn’t done before the start of
the school year.
“Those few extra minutes can be
the difference between making it
on time or not.”
Simcoe Street residents are familiar
with construction.
Jerzy Wegrzyn has lived on Simcoe
Street right across from the
school since 1988. He has seen
construction in the past but never
this big.
He isn’t happy with the construction
but understands it’s necessary
and delays can occur.
“Construction is always a pain,”
he said.
The project is costing the region
around $2-3 million dollars and
Photograph by Dan Koehler
is being completed by The Miller
Group.
Alternative routes suggested by
the region for motorists coming
from north of the campus are:
• turn right onto Winchester
Road, go south on Thornton
Road to Conlin Road, then continue
east to Simcoe Street.
• turn left onto Winchester
Road, go south on Ritson Road to
Conlin Road, then continue west
to Simcoe Street.
‘Hangry’ at school? Order food at a touch of a button
Photograph by Jenn Amaro
Durham College students line up at the cafeteria but aren’t using the Hangry app often.
made their appearance on Dragon’s
Den Canada and pitched their
idea to skip the line, for only a ten
per cent convenience fee. They
successfully collaborated with three
out of the five dragons who all saw
potential with the idea. Since
then, Durham College, along with
seven other postsecondary institutions
in Canada have adapted to
the Hangry method.
However, Durham College students
are slow to this adopt the new
Hangry app since it was introduced
in September. The Marketplace at
Durham College has a table where
you scan your order code from your
phone, but students lack the awareness
of the device, though upon discovery
think it’s a life saver.
“I really hadn’t heard of it or
even noticed what it did. I wish
I knew about it though, this line
is crazy,” says Durham College
student Mackenzie Cowan while
waiting in line to order food. Similar
responses came from the majority
of students in the cafeteria.
Even though the cashiers keep the
lines moving, the cooking and debit
or credit process inevitably slow
everything down.
Kim Price and Tammy Gardiner,
who work at the Marketplace
love the new app. “It’s pure fun
and easy to use.” says Price. “While
I’m cashing customers out, my
headphone will beep when someone
has scanned their code and we
bring them their order.” There is
always three people in the Marketplace
that will get that notification
to bring the food. Despite the great
system, Price says only about seven
students a day use the app.
Gardiner, who works in Smoke’s
Poutinerie says, “a receipt will just
pop up telling us an order has been
placed and we make it – simple as
that.”
Your phone will notify you when
your order will be ready for pick
up. The app will save your previous
orders to make the process even
easier every time its used. The app
also allows the user to pre-order the
pickup time, so it can be set before
class even starts, and be ready as
soon as class is finished.
Slowly Durham College students
are gaining awareness about this
time-saving, line-skipping apparatus
solving the descent into the
‘hangry’ phase.