By Bianca Dinkha & Joseph Zuniga
Cyber employee Tiana Pagan was suspended for a second time after miscommunication with dining management. She was sent home indefinitely, with no return in sight.
After being hospitalized after a small stroke, Pagan took a three-day medical leave to recover. According to Pagan, she provided the necessary documentation to management, who approved her request.
Once Pagan returned, she was called to Connie Chamber’s office, general manager of Quest Food Management Services, during her lunch break. To her surprise, Pagan was marked as a no-show, despite having documentation and was on a final warning for her previous suspension.
On Monday March 30th, at around 4 p.m., after her shift was over, she was escorted out of the building.
Pagan voiced frustration with dining management, saying that it is difficult to be out of work without knowing whether she will return.
“Just let me know what’s going to happen because I got things to do in my life too,” she said. “I got bills, I’m a single parent with my kids at home. I cannot be like this. But you know what it is? They want me to walk out by myself. That’s what they want me to do. They want me to leave my job.”
Dining management declined to comment, saying that they do not comment on employee matters.
“It feels like it’s a setup,” Pagan said. “They’re setting me up. There’s something going on for sure.”
Freshman Sarai Gomez understands the duties of being a manager but also critiques the actions of DU’s dining management.
“I work at McDonald’s as a manager, so if an employee texts me that they can’t come in today, obviously I have to tell my supervisor,” she said. “[Then] they have to look for somebody to cover.”
Gomez says that although the circumstances of McDonald’s and Cyber Cafe are not the same, there should be a basic line of communication from the employee to the supervisor, and to the manager.
“As a manager, you are kind of in between, either the employee tells the supervisor or the manager, and the manager communicates with the supervisor,” Gomez said. “That’s how I was trained.”
Sophomore Edhem Planincic argues that Pagans situation with Chambers could’ve been handled differently.
“I see both sides, but instead of a suspension, I think there should’ve been a conversation,” he said. “They should’ve talked it out… Just letting each other know about what’s happening instead of just [suspending her].”
Senior Ayah Lamalmi describes her interactions with Pagan.
“Tiana always had a bubbly personality,” she said. “I feel like when you ordered and saw her face you would be in a better mood. It kinda sucks that she’s gone. Cyber’s missing a part without her.”
Senior Samantha Moreno notices the difference in Cyber Cafe without Pagan.
“You can really see the difference in Cyber Cafe when Tiana isn’t there. The energy isn’t the same,” she said.
Additionally, Moreno added that there has been a noticeable change in the behavior of Pagan’s coworkers.
“I see a bunch of them just feel a bit more down, [they’re] not as talkative,” she said.
Planincic also feels the shift in mood for the Cyber Cafe staff and notices less students going to Cyber.
“The staff have become a little more depressing,” he said. “And like I can tell there’s a lower number of students who go to Cyber now and I feel like that is [attributed] to her being suspended.”
Lamalmi argues that Pagan plays a key role in the community of Dominican.
“I think everyone has grown accustomed to her and her energy and her personality. So, if she’s gone, I feel like you’re also taking away a part of Dominican.”
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