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Nov. 9, 2006 Students voice their opinions on Gilman Students at All-Campus meeting find dining services over-priced and of unsatisfactory quality Jason E. Weber Students come from fifty states and several countries to attend Marietta College. They come to study in one of forty-eight academic programs. They live in one of ten residence halls. Some join fraternities
Opportunities to voice your opinions “Why is Chartwells a monopoly?” Junior, Nick Manson began the discussion at the Allcampus meeting which was hosted by the Student Senate and attended by Provost Sue DeWine, President Jean Scott, and Dean of Student Life Lon Vickers among other administrators. Manson continued his issue by explaining that now that he has off of the meal plan he has been able to maintain a quality three-meal-a-day diet for upwards of $1000 less than what he paid for when he was on the meal plan which is now up to $1565 per semester for the traditional plan and $1635 for the Super 3 Meal plan. Manson expressed his opinion that this was far too expensive and that students should have the option of going off campus for their food. Dr. Vickers explained that Chartwells is the cheapest solution for the students and the college citing the intensive bidding process the college underwent five years ago that brought us Chartwells. Also, in regards to Manson's suggestion that students be allowed to just go off campus, Vickers explained that the contract with Chartwells guarantees that a certain number of students will purchase the meal plan. “Vendors won't come,” he said at the meeting, “unless a certain number of consumers are guaranteed.” In a comparison with other Ohio colleges and universities, Marietta's board is quite competitive. Students at Ohio University pay up to $1,630 a quarter. Unlike Marietta, students there have the option of paying less per quarter if they want fewer meals. Marietta students pay a flat fee for any of the meal plans they choose aside from the new Super 3 Meal plan. Of course, at the cheapest, Ohio University is $1,033 per quarter which adds up $3,099 for the typical academic year compared with Marietta's $3,130. At Ashland University, a school whose dining services won the grand prize in the Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards put forth by the National Association of College and University Food Services declaring them the best food service in the country regardless of school size, students pay $1,803 per semester or $3,606 per year. Finally, at Muskingum, students pay $1,660 per semester as a flat fee adding up to $3,320.per year. Another major issue for students was the quality of the food and the service. Some people at the meeting had complaints of hot food turning out cold, food being served with bare hands instead of with tongs or rubber gloves, and a general lack of healthy options. Culinary Committee Chairperson, and Student Senator, Kayla Reiland responded to some of the comments by stating that her committee has been working with Joe Lachina to try and address many of these same concerns. She felt that one of the main problems preventing them from addressing the issues is lack of knowledge of their presence. “Come to culinary committee.” She says to those with problems explaining that through the efforts of her committee some change has been made. According to the minutes from the culinary committee meeting held on that day the issues discussed with Lachina and Dr. Vickers included, “worker didn't use gloves when picking up vegetables to serve at Gilman for stir fry,” “Izzy's workers are slow, unprofessional, and swear a lot,” and “Men employees are rude towards females at Izzy's and Gilman.” They also are working to increase awareness of the open meetings the committee holds on Wednesdays at 5:30 in Gilman as well as of the dinning services website which contains some nutritional information, menus, calendars, and a comment form. The website actually deals directly with many of the comments that students have regarding the healthiness of the food including a “nutrition journal” which allow students to view the nutritional facts of the food served at Gilman as well as chart the food they eat and stay on a healthy eating schedule. Despite all of this, students did not feel their qualms are being adequately addressed. Therefore, Student Senate, seeing Gilman as a major campus concern, will be bringing Joe Lachina to a full student senate meeting to discuss these issues as a full senate. As usual, all students are welcome to attend the meeting and voice their concerns. Unfortunately, a day has not yet been set for that meeting. Student Senate expects the meeting to occur next week or the week after on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Emeritus Chamber. Chartwells is currently finishing the fifth year of their ten-year contract with Marietta College. Complaints that are arising are similar to those that ousted the last company. However, with five years remaining with Chartwells there ousting isn't really an option. Still, students have many opportunities to voice their opinions regarding Gilman and Chartwells: There are comment cards at the front of Gilman, there is a comment form on the Dining Services website, http://www.dineoncampus.com/marietta/index.cfm. The Culinary Committee meets every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Gilman, and Student Senate will be meeting with Joe Lachina in the coming weeks. If you are one of those who has problems with Chartwells, this could be your chance to make a difference. |
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and sororities, some are dedicated to athletics. Despite their differences, most Marietta College students have one thing in common: Dining Services. Unfortunately, the campus' general opinion of Dining Services is not necessarily a positive one, as heard at Student Senate's All-Campus Meeting, held on October 25, 2006. Dining Services became a major point on the agenda and received much attack from the students present. The issues people had were numerous. They ranged from the price of food to its quality.