Through my years at UR, ARAMARK Dining has attempted to do something the administration has never done – help improve their service to students. These positive changes have been made through interaction with students and with the clear goal of having better food on campus.
ARAMARK has met many of these challenges. Certainly Danforth Dining is far better now than it has been in the past. The renovations of the coffee house and new Hillside Caf have added a new element to Real Food on Campus.
Though I praise ARAMARK, I would be remiss if I did not write to voice my chief complaint over the new dining changes. Surprisingly, I am not complaining about how it costs me $5 to add a small soft drink and chips to a deli sandwich.
After all, ARAMARK is most likely feeling the heat from a sluggish market. No, I am writing to demand that Douglass Dining returns to its a la carte lunch schedule.
Douglass dining is the perfect location on campus to stop in and grab a drink, eat a chicken burrito and look at C-SPAN on the television. So, like many students, I was shocked when I discovered upon returning to school that Douglass Dining is now all-you-can eat for lunch.
Who really eats an all-you-can-eat lunch? Now I must go to the Pit or eat at the Meliora. While the Meliora is a viable alternative, am I the only one who believes everything tastes the same and the chicken is really not chicken?
I also have a problem with entering a dining hall and smelling like it once I leave. Hence, I attempt to stay away from the Pit as much as possible.
We need the old Douglass dining back. There is no reason for an all-you-can-eat lunch spot on campus. I am putting forth that ARAMARK made Douglass all-you-can eat in an attempt to make UR students fat. Well, I can get fat without eating at Douglass and I urge all students to boycott Douglass until the a la carte menu is returned.
And the biggest reason we need a la carte Douglass back? The grilled cheese. Douglass has the best grilled cheese on campus. It is not as good as when “grilled cheese man” was here last year and greeted all students as “Sir” and “Ms.,” but “grilled cheese man” must have been let go for cost cutting measures.
Despite the departure of “grilled cheese man,” the grilled cheese is a classic must for all students. Now I am forced to either wait until dinner for grilled cheese or pay for an all-you-can eat lunch. I can eat a lot of grilled cheese, but I am not willing to pay eight bucks for it.
Please do not support an all-you-can-eat Douglass Dining. Doing so would be like a Red Sox fan rooting for Roger Clemens after he dissed Boston. Douglass is meant to be a la carte.
Next time you go into Douglass for lunch, think to yourself, “Do I really need to eat five cheeseburgers? Wouldn’t one grilled cheese suffice?” Contact ARAMARK and let them know that Douglass Dining and a la carte lunch need to be reunited immediately.
Snyder is a junior and can be reached at asnyder@campustimes.org.
