Don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of the new Commons. The design is clean, the fireplace is neat and the food looks good. As an off-campus student, I really appreciate how accessible it is. Last year, since I didn't have a meal plan, when friends would all meet for dinner, I was stuck outside. Now, The Commons has been successfully transformed into a great studying and socializing spot.
There are perks beyond the style of the building too. Paying for what you want to eat and only what you want seems like a big improvement over last year, when something you wanted often came on a plate with something you didn't. With that system, more unwanted food was served and therefore wasted. Being able to go through a line countless times after swiping your card to get in also diminished appreciation for the meals, leading to more wastefulness.
It also seems like this system might be healthier. Now there are more decisions to be made: whether to pay for a cookie or fruit, to get water or a soda. Depending on the student of course, having to manage food finances might inspire him or her to forgo less health-conscious picks.
Outweighing those benefits, in my opinion, are the downsides to the new Commons' system. While it seems only fair that people pay for what they eat, it's unfortunate that the food is so steeply priced that students who need to eat more have to struggle with the high cost of their diet.
Some student athletes, for example, have commented on how they can't sustain their regular eating habits with meals priced as they are at The Commons. Of course, this situation mirrors real life, where people who eat more will inevitably buy more at grocery stores, paying more money. But at Fred Meyer or Safeway you don't have to deal with a monopoly; you can choose between brands and sizes, controlling your expenditures.
I can buy a dozen eggs or a loaf of bread at a grocery store for roughly the same price as a snack at the Commons. It's understandable that certain circumstances justify an increase in price. There's packaging and labor and a lot more, I'm sure, behind the scenes.
But for college students, the restaurant pricing of our school cafeteria puts a damper on the great aspects of the new Commons. It will definitely be a great new study spot and a nice place to meet friends, but actually buying meals there is impractical for off-campus students and stressful for some on campus as well.
Enid Spitz is an English and Communications Studies major. She can be contacted at spitz13@up.edu.
