Editorial: Feeding the Student Body

Students waiting in line at Pandinis, a dining option in the Student Union.
Students find the dining options in Hasbrouck and the Student Union limited.

Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) has started to make changes to campus dining and student eating options.

CAS’ Executive Director, Steve Deutsch, said that along with the addition of the Shop24 vending machine, CAS is also looking to have a contract with a food service provider signed in the future.

We at The Little Rebellion hope that in the search for a new food service provider, CAS will listen to the student voice the most. We also hope that student concerns will be seen as the most important in CAS’s eyes.

Members of the student senate have encouraged the student body to get involved and share their opinions concerning campus dining with CAS, and we hope that students see how important it is to make sure their voice is heard.

We commend CAS for wanting the food service provider that gives the most local options and hope they will go through with this desire. Not only would going local be the best option for the economy, but more than likely, going with a local food service provider will be a healthier option for students as well.

However, while we do applaud CAS for their desire to go local, the student voice and preference is what should be at the forefront of choosing a food service provider.

Last semester, students and faculty members raised concerns about how Sodexo treats their employees and the quality of the food they serve. Discussions and meetings were held, and the effort put into getting the word out cannot be overlooked.

Student Senator Roberto LoBianco recently said that he and other students on campus were disappointed with the choice to install a Shop24 vending machine on campus, as it goes against going local and environmental sustainability. Despite the complaints and the data LoBianco collected about student opinion on Shop24, the school is still investing in it.

If students and professors were and still are willing to take the time to voice their concerns, we believe it only fair and expected for CAS to listen to what they have to say. If the student majority is unhappy with what is currently in place, then it is the responsibility of CAS to change it and find something that better complements student desire.

We also hope CAS listens most to students because at the end of the day, it is the students who are most affected by the food that is made available on campus.

Students who live on campus are especially reliant on dining dollars and meal swipes, as most of what they consume is food that you find on campus. While there are plenty of options for students now, those options mean nothing if none of them are ideal.

We believe that it would be in the best interest of CAS to make themselves transparent to the campus community when it comes to the issue of who the next food service provider will be. One way we believe CAS can hear the student voice is to have discussions leading up to the choice of picking a new food service provider.

If this were to be the case, students would have a place to go where they know their voice is being heard and accounted for.

In the search for a new food service provider, we can only ask and hope that CAS will keep student opinion at top consideration when it comes time to make a choice in who a contract is offered to.

Little Rebellion

Next Post

Pew Study: Fewer Youth in the Pews

Sat Nov 10 , 2012
Church bells ring and only 33 percent of young adults between ages 18 and 29 are filing into the pews, according to a 2007 Pew […]
St. Joseph's Catholic Church in New Paltz. Photo courtesy of rchrdcnnnghm's flickr.

You May Like

TWITTER

Twitter feed is not available at the moment.