OpinionsEditorials

Spot offerings limited

Many University of La Verne students often find themselves asking “what is better than the food at The Spot?” The answer: just about anything.

Our proof? People would rather eat at Davenport.

In September, students were promised a better meal plan for their money. However, since the change in dining service providers from Aramark to Sodexho, students have lost a lot of variety in their food options.

Although the hours of Davenport have changed, the problems that were present last year have not. Davenport is now open from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for hot breakfast. From 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m., students can only choose from limited options like bland cereals, cottage cheese and strawberry yogurt. At 11 a.m. the grill fires up, and many choices are presented. However, since the grill closes at 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m., this leaves students with busy schedules (pretty much everyone) with no other choice but to eat elsewhere.

So what do most students do? They head to The Spot, of course. And what do they find? Overpriced Mexican food and bottled drinks. No grill, no options ­ only burritos, tacos or nachos (okay, maybe a few more options, but not many).

The problem is this: if we are forced to buy a meal plan with our housing package, the meal plan should work around the students. The average student has a 14-meal plan and pays $1,740 a semester. They in turn receive $75 of bonus meal money to be used at The Spot or the Book and Bean Café. That is a lot of money that students are forced into paying for food that is not appetizing.

Another problem is that the hours of The Spot are too short. Although The Spot supposedly opens at 8 a.m., they do not actually start cooking food until 11 a.m. In the past students have been able to run by The Spot before their morning class and grab a quick bite of a breakfast burrito. Now this is unheard of. Many students also liked having the option of going to The Spot on break from a night class. Not any more. Not to mention The Spot’s Friday hours; they close at 2 p.m.

In the 2002-2003 Guide to Housing and Residential Life, the hours of our dining services are listed. However, these hours are very different from what students actually find. If it were not for the nice people serving our food, we would be far more than frustrated with what we have had to deal with so far. Considering the fact that we only have three places to use our meal card, where else can we go, but The Spot, which is nearest at the time when we need a bite to go?

Our suggestions? Variety is key. Please give us more than $4 nachos and overpriced sushi. We pay a lot of money for our food services on campus and have yet to be satisfied.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

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