Micro-waves of change

By Mallory Sepúlveda

If you are someone who brings your own lunch to school you are probably familiar with the less than ideal microwave situation. Long lines at limited microwaves leave you with a curtailed eating time, which is frustrating considering the already short lunch times that we have.

“The lines are really long,” stated junior Aaliyah Mack. “You’d have to wait five minutes for people to finish microwaving their food so you could go microwave yours.”

Mack, like many others that use the microwaves at school, found a change in the Old Commons this year. In previous years, there were two microwaves—one on the north side of the cafeteria and one on the south side. This year, only the north microwave remained.

*Picture of microwave line in Old Commons taken by Mallory Sepúlveda*

“I have to get out of class real soon, right after the bell rings, to get to the microwave in time,” remarked sophomore Morris Vanbeber. “The line stacks up so quickly because there is only one microwave.”

As a consistent school-microwave-user myself, I immediately noticed how much this small change affected the students. Heading to the microwave turned into a race, as lines with upwards of six students became the norm.

“I’ve seen people wait in line for the entire lunch period for the microwave,” commented Vanbeber. “I ate on the west campus [last year]—which has four microwaves—and never had this problem.”

There was one giant elephant in the cafeteria. Where had the south microwave gone? No one knew. Not the administrators, not the cafeteria staff, not the custodians.

“Oh my gosh, it’s a big mystery, isn’t it?” exclaimed Junior Principle Austin Higgs. “It was here last year. ‘Cause this was my [lunch duty] spot, and I remember seeing it. And now there’s only one. I don’t know. It could have been theft; it could have caught on fire; it could have grown legs and walked away.”

All three of these options seemed probable, but I still didn’t have a conclusive answer. So I, along with senior Caleb Parker, embarked on a journey around the school.

*Pictures of surplus microwaves and note taken by Mallory Sepúlveda*

“We found that there were extra microwaves hidden in one of the rooms,” recalled Parker. “There was a sticky note, and it said ‘surplus.’”

*Picture compilation of various OHS microwaves taken by Mallory Sepúlveda*

Not only did we find surplus microwaves, but we also found way more microwaves than we could have anticipated. There was a brand new one, still in its box, and even one in a copy room. In under an hour, we saw 20 microwaves. Still without an answer regarding the south microwave, I chased the lead of the “surplus” note and went to the Owasso Public Schools Operations and Facilities building—home of the surplus warehouse—with another sleuthing partner, junior Makenzy Holm.

“It was really fun, actually. We had to wait for ten minutes … and then [an Operations employee] was like, ‘Yeah, we actually do a lot of taking in [items from schools] and deciding whether or not they need to be deemed trash … repurposed or … redistributed.” Holm continued, “And then we went around to the side and we took a lot of pictures from [outside] the warehouse.”

*Picture of the Owasso Public Schools surplus warehouse taken by Mallory Sepúlveda*

Since the warehouse opens at 6 a.m, we arrived before the school day at 6:45 a.m. However, no one was available to take us into the warehouse. We had reached a dead end. My hopes of finding this microwave, dead or alive, were decreasing rapidly.

“There could be a pretty big mystery on this. Unfortunately… it’s probably gonna be a mystery that is unsolved,” conceded Higgs.

I accepted the fact that this microwave will probably never be found; it will stay an Old Commons urban legend, never to be thought of again until another microwave mysteriously disappears. However, on this journey, I learned a lot more than I thought I would, I met people I never would have encountered otherwise and I had the power to make the change that I wanted to see.

“You have Mr. Higgs’ permission,” Higgs said with a smile. “Any microwave around here with ‘surplus’ on it, you can grab it. You have my blessing.”

So that I did. On a fateful Thursday that will surely go down in Owasso High School microwave history, I grabbed a surplus microwave and placed it in the Old Commons.

“The students want another microwave!” declared Vanbeber. “They don’t just want another microwave—because there’s such a low quantity and such a high demand, they need another microwave.”

Hopefully, this added microwave provides for shorter lines and a more pleasant lunch experience. To some, this may seem like a miniscule difference. But to me, it’s proof that students can make change in their schools if they’re willing to keep an open mind.

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