CISE Help & Resources
Food and Drinks in CISE Labs
As of 11 July 2001, food and drinks, including water, are forbidden in the 24-hour CISE public labs, including:
- E114 (main lab);
- E113 (Linux lab);
- E115 (Windows lab);
- E116 (Linux lab).
Anyone caught violating this may have their account suspended, lab privileges revoked, or both.
Note: the video cameras will be used to identify abusers.
Rationale
In the past, before the labs were opened for 24 hour access, the general rule was that food and drinks were not allowed in the lab. There were some violators of the rule, but infractions were rare because the limited hours prevented users from spending large amounts of unmonitored time at the workstations.
When the E114 labs opened up to users 24/7, these infractions increased by several orders of magnitude. Consultants would come in the morning to find open containers on the desks, food crumbs in the keyboards and on the floor, not to mention the large amount of food thrown in the trash bins.
This had a severely negative impact on the department: several hundred dollars worth of computer hardware were damaged, the carpet was dirtied, and the trash left in the receptacles attracted insects. (The insect problem at one point became so unbearable that signs had to be posted instructing users to throw food-trash into the cans outside the lab.)
Many signs were posted instructing users not to bring food or drink into the lab, but these were routinely ignored. Recently, system administrators have had to take on the role of food-police, actively monitoring people entering the lab and asking them to discard their food and drinks or to finish them outside. This patrolling of the lab has not helped much; users still manage to sneak food into the lab, some blatantly so, and often the same people have been warned repeatedly about this.
First Offense
If you are seen in the lab with food or drink: you will receive an official warning from the systems administrator.
Second Offense
If you are seen in the lab with food or drink: your account will be disabled.
At this point you will have to set up an appointment with the system administrators and explain why you should have your access reinstated.
Third and Other Offenses
If you are seen violating this rule a third time: your access to the CISE labs will be revoked for one semester.
You will need to meet with the system administrators before access is reinstated. If you feel this sanction is unwarranted, you may appeal to the Facilities Committee.
