By Inés Guérin
Even though Northwestern Pest Control puts down traps at The Cove every two weeks, two UP students said they saw a mouse scurrying though The Cove last week.
Seniors Luke Harkness and Drew Davison were at The Cove late at night on Monday, April 2, when they saw "something" run across the floor by the corner counter near the microwave and condiments. They quickly realized it was a mouse, Harkness said.
"I thought I was just seeing things because it was so late, but when the same thing went back the other direction and disappeared into a hole, I knew it was a mouse," Harkness said. "There is a hole, perhaps a mistake in the building of the cabinet, which seems to have become the mouse's new home."
Kirk Mustain, the general manager of Bon Appétit, acknowledged that there have been some sightings of mice at The Cove.
"One of the issues was the back door at The Cove, but that has been fixed," Mustain said.
After deliberating about whether "it was more moral to allow the mouse to live in peace or to tell Bon Appétit," Harkness said he and Davison decided to talk to Bon Appétit staff working at The Cove that evening.
Harkness and Davison said the Cove employee they spoke to showed them where a mousetrap had been set.
"He went to the hole and pulled out a mousetrap that was simply a plastic dish full of cheese - something that was designed so that the mouse would stick to it but not die instantly," Harkness said.
Harkness said he noticed little footprints across the trap, "so obviously [the trap] was not working."
Harkness imagines that everyone knows about the mouse issue, he said.
Davison said he will graduate but he will also "pray for students who eat in a questionable and unsanitary atmosphere."
"My friends have seen the mouse and we were discussing last week what we would do about it," sophomore Ann Carey said. "Some friends wanted to kill it, but I'd rather set it free outside somewhere and let him live a happy life."
Graduate student Emanuel Lopez said he would kill the mouse.
"However, I don't think it is a big problem," Lopez said while sinking his teeth into a cheeseburger.
Graduate student Marat Magkeev said he would catch the mouse, stuff it with vegetables and lemon, and grill it to medium rare, like the Romans did.
"They enjoyed it very much; it was a delicacy by the way!" Magkeev said.
Mustain said he does not think the mice themselves pose as much of a health risk as their droppings do.
To solve this issue, Bon Appétit keeps food stored "correctly," for example, by not leaving bags of bread open, Mustain said.
According to Harkness, he and Davison, as well as many other students, will continue to eat at The Cove. Harkness discussed the mice with other students and found that their responses were varied.
"Some did suggest that it may be a health hazard, some expressed that the mouse could be our new school mascot, and many were against harming the 'poor' mouse," Harkness said.
