by Breana Staten, Opinion Editor
Ramen noodles, Easy Mac and breakfast cereal are all very stereotypical but accurate examples of college student meals. They are cheap, quick, easy to make and not very nutritious. So the fact that students feel the need to take an apple or a banana to go when they are in the cafeteria seems like the smart thing to do. However, it has been made very clear to Asbury students that this is against the cafeteria rules and there are valid reasons.
On Aug. 31, Student Development sent out a campus-wide email that stated: “It has come to our attention that a significant amount of food is being taken from the cafeteria. Please do not take any food out of the cafeteria unless you are finishing eating it (like an ice cream cone or finishing a cookie or apple). This is a strict policy of the University and Pioneer College Catering.”
In the same email, Student Development also urged students to “remember that Green-on-the-Go boxes are available for a deposit of $5 at the front desk. The deposit is returned to you when the box is returned to the cafeteria.”
While these rules at first may seem like the cafeteria staff and Student Development are trying to micromanage students and their actions, it is easy to understand the reason for these new rules given the extremes to which some students have gone in the past.
Sophomore and cafeteria worker Morley Prenevost said she has seen students take whole sleeves of bagels or “bring in whole gallon jugs and just fill them up for their rooms.”
Some students believe that too big of a deal is being made of the situation. Sophomore Elijah Preston said, “Unless you’re taking a whole fruit basket, I don’t see what’s wrong with it.”
However, Prenevost defended the stricter regulations: “If you think about it, we’re not paying that much for the amount of food we’re getting. And I know a lot of students pay $40,000 for school, but if you think about it, your meal plan is only $1,800 [per semester].”
The cost of a meal plan is relatively low when compared to the number of meals students receive. Once you break it down, students are at Asbury for approximately eight months a year, and if you’re eating three meals every day, that’s roughly $6 per meal.
While it may seem like the cafeteria is overly concerned about this situation, it only takes a few people to ruin things for everyone. If the rules aren’t followed, meal plan prices may be increased and more regulations could be added.
And nobody wants to deal with that.
