The microwave in Sid Smith’s basement cafeteria will be replaced by a confectionery oven come May 19, when a controversial renovation of the caf’s Tim Hortons is set to open. The donut kiosk is expanding, cutting into the room’s seating space and microwave area, despite protests that it infringes on student space.

In an email last Thursday, the building’s manager notified occupants that construction would begin this Monday, April 7.

The news came as a surprise to the ASSU campaigners who held an “eatin” in February and collected over 500 signatures to protest the expansion. Aramark, the food service contractor that proposed the move, has said growth is necessary for effective service. But ASSU president Ryan Hayes called the move a sign of increasing corporate presence on campus. Hayes also objected to the Second Cup’s Sid Smith expansion this September, which crowded out student tables in the building’s lobby.

Hayes, who accused university administrators of going back on their promises, said that ancillary services director Anne MacDonald had agreed in a March 11 meeting to halt the project if students collected 500 signatures, following an earlier agreement from a staffer who has since left U of T. “We have two verbal commitments,” Hayes said.

MacDonald could not be reached for comment. When she spoke with The Varsity this February, she characterized opposition to the expansion as “a couple of people in the Arts and Science Students’ Union.” She added: “If the students really don’t want the Tim Hortons in the building then we won’t have one, but […] there are thousands of people who use that outlet every day.”

In an email response to Hayes, Mac- Donald cited concerns of “factual errors” in the petition. “My primary concern […] is that the questions asked are far broader than the issue that was originally raised,” the email reads. ASSU’s online petition, in addition to opposing the Tim Hortons renovation, also called for healthier and vegetarian food options, improved workers’ rights, and return of the café’s operation to students. For his part, Hayes denied that the additional demands detracted from the topic at hand. “These issues are integral to the campaign,” he said. “The Tim Hortons issue was the focal point, but then the question becomes, if not Tim Hortons, then what?”