As a corner resident in Fairview House, I can tell you first-hand just how obnoxiously loud the delivery trucks are right at the butt-crack of dawn most, if not every, morning.
Fairview is next door to the Residential College (ResCo). It’s practically in my backyard. Along with being a place where students live, ResCo is also home to the Midtown Provisions dining hall that attracts a lot of business.
I understand that in order to serve students, ResCo has to have deliveries every day. What I do not understand is why these deliveries have to happen so early in the morning. When these trucks make their deliveries, some students might have just fallen asleep after having to study, do homework and complete any other responsibilities before the end of the day.
Matthew Barnes, the director of operations for Bon Appétit, commented on how delivery trucks to ResCo only arrive at 7 a.m. the earliest.
“Our staff that works at Midtown arrives at 7 a.m.,” Barnes said. “Someone has to check it from a food safety standpoint. We have someone that checks temperatures, that checks the order, the invoice, to make sure that all of those collaborate for what we’re receiving.”
I can sympathize with the fact that early morning deliveries allow ResCo’s employees to prepare the cafeteria for the day, which is proactive. However, these delivery truck drivers, and whoever they report to, need to realize how harmful — and annoying — interrupted sleep is to students.
Genesis Washington, a criminology and psychology double major, discussed the ways in which these early morning truck deliveries impact her day-to-day life, specifically inconveniencing her morning sleep schedule.
“Mornings, [are] kind of inconsistent,” Washington said. “I just don’t know when it’s going to wake me up … I usually always hear it before my alarm. It kind of is my alarm, but in a bad way.”
Why can’t ResCo just have their truck deliveries at 10 a.m. when most of Fairview and ResCo’s residents are awake for the day? It would give students the chance to get a consistent, uninterrupted night’s sleep, as well as allow ResCo’s employees to have slower mornings.
As students, we are constantly working to our maximum potential every single day. It is absolutely vital that we get uninterrupted sleep every night that we can. Having loud banging emanating from these trucks causes stress, aggravation and damages to our sleep schedules.
Taylor Johanneson, a senior psychology and sociology combined major, with a double major in worship studies, talked about her experience with this noise issue as a Resident Assistant at ResCo.
“Once students started moving in, you could definitely tell when the [delivery trucks] were coming in and out and how loud that they were,” Johanneson said. “[I think] the delivery trucks [are making these noises], but I also think garbage trucks [might be as well]. It’s just anything that’s coming [from] back there, but specifically between garbage trucks and the [delivery] trucks.”
It is unrealistic to think that there won’t be any more noises from these deliveries after bringing it to Barnes’ attention. However, ensuring that all of these drivers are aware of the students trying to sleep just feet away from them would potentially make for a less interrupted night’s sleep for us.
“They’re [truck deliveries] operated by a variety of third party partners [and] vendors that we utilize while we coordinate deliveries to support dining operations,” Barnes said.
As it turns out, ResCo is not the one scheduling these deliveries. Whatever delivery trucks come at 7 a.m. are there because of their company’s personalized schedule.
“Individual schedules for those partners are based on the respective vendors’ logistics,” Barnes said. “Trash and compost pickup also occur at this location, and that is managed through building services.”
Although I am grateful for Bon Appétit’s willingness to accept feedback, it doesn’t change the fact that our sleep schedules are suffering because of these nightly and daily disruptions. While an argument can be made that early morning deliveries allow ResCo employees to get ahead on their workday, the benefits of afternoon or mid-morning deliveries will help students in a significant way.
These third-party delivery vendors need to realize how detrimental disrupted sleep is for our bodies, minds, mental health and overall composure. They need to be made aware of their volume throughout the day and night, so that we can fully rest through the whole night. Just stop being so loud. Is that too much to ask?
Students can voice their concerns by texting the Zingle line at 317-343-841 — which will be sent to the directors of dining services — or by contacting the Butler Dining Committee, which is made up of the student body.