Contactless soda dispensers at Boston University’s Marciano Commons dining hall. THALIA LAUZON/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Boston University’s Marciano Commons dining hall recently added contactless drink machines to reduce contact of touch surfaces. Machines will be added to Warren Towers Dining Hall and West Dining Hall as early as next week.
Prior to the installation of the contactless drink machines, called ValidFill Touchless, traditional drink machines required students to press a button or push a lever with their finger or cup to dispense the liquid.
To use the machines, students place their cup beneath the dispenser’s valve and hover a finger between sensors that read “TOUCHLESS,” triggering the valve to release the beverage.
Dining Services marketing director James Boushka referred The Daily Free Press to BU spokesperson Colin Riley multiple times for responses to inquiries.
Riley said the machines were in “high demand,” which caused back-orders and a delayed installation. He said dining services across the country adjusting to COVID-19 protocols were likely also looking to install ValidFill Touchless.
BU Dining Services ordered the machines over the summer when planning for dining halls reopenings upon the return to campus, Riley said.
Riley said there was no reason for installing the machines at Marciano before other campus dining halls. He said he does not know what cleaning protocols will be for these dispensers, but all equipment installed have cleaning or maintenance schedules in place.
BU continuously monitors for improvements that can be made across campus, according to Riley.
“Looking at our budgetary needs and how you would budget for new equipment, that all plays a part,” Riley said. “Wherever it helps, we’ll look into it.”
Riley said he is unsure whether Granby Commons at BU Hillel will install contactless machines, he wrote in a follow-up email, but added he imagines it might.
Samaritan Almond, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said the touchless sensors would probably be helpful in reducing potential viral spread through surfaces.
“Everyone before was touching the same button,” Almond said, “and probably not everyone is using hand sanitizer when they come in.”
CAS freshman Maria Niño-Suastegui said contactless machines seem to offer more convenience than the earlier system of asking students to use paper sheets to touch the dispensers.
“It was harder to remember to do it, and you would just go straight for it,” Niño-Suastegui said. “Now, every time you want to get soda, you have no choice.”
Alanis Broussard contributed to the reporting of this article.
