Written by Emma Jones // Graphic by Emma Jones
The ice machine in the Midnight Oil Coffeehouse Brackett Library location has been replaced with a new machine after nearly a month of not working.
Senior Ryan Simpson, the library location manager for Midnight Oil, said the machine was having issues earlier this summer, but the Physical Resources Department repaired it before the semester started. On Aug. 30, however, the machine had completely stopped producing ice, and physical resources was unable to determine why. Simpson said a new ice machine was ordered, but unable to be put in immediately due to missing parts.
“For the majority of the time we were out of ice, the new machine was sitting in our back room and was missing pieces,” Simpson said. “We were waiting for the missing parts and for physical resources to internally clean it since it was a used machine.”
On Sept. 22, physical resources finished installing the new machine, and it started producing ice, much to the excitement of many library regulars.
Senior Alaina Abbott said she was upset when she heard that the machine was broken, because she was usually first in line in the mornings and had to begin ordering a different drink.
“I was putting hot espresso shots in my frozen chai as a substitute,” Abbott said. “They thought I was crazy but it worked. When they finally got it fixed, I can confirm it was the talk of the library for an entire day.”
Midnight Oil manager Rachel Miller said that because of the location in the library, the equipment in that branch technically belongs to Harding’s Physical Resources Department. Miller said this is why there was a delay in the machine getting fixed: It was not a Midnight Oil responsibility to get it repaired, only to tell physical resources that it needed to be.
“A lot of people were really gracious, and either went elsewhere to get ice or got a warm drink,” Miller said.
Senior Cooper Moore said he wasn’t too upset about the machine getting broken and chose to just get a frozen drink such as a granita until the machine was fixed.
“I just kind of wish the ice machine had started working before the weather had cooled off,” Moore said.
