Let Chartwells know you mean business

STAFF EDITORIAL

Tuition. Rent. The price of gas. You’ve heard it before and chances are, you’ll hear it again. For most Oakland University students, these three topics are on our minds daily.

Another factor to throw into the mix: $12.95 for a gallon of Chartwells’ lemonade, and the outrageous price of food on campus.

Actually, the student price of a gallon of lemonade is only $8.36. Excuse us.

We often hear about the money and time that is invested in OU to dilute the “commuter feel” of campus. Students are lured to stay well beyond the time that classes are dismissed for concerts, pep rallies and the like.

While these events are worth the effort, it seems like a gouge is in place when we’re left with two options: shell out $6 to pay for a $5 Subway sandwich, or leave campus to eat. That doesn’t encourage anyone to stick around for dinner.

We do appreciate the salads at Wild Greens and the sandwiches at Subway because they offer a healthy alternative on campus. But while they are tempting, few of us aim to become “Dollar Menu-aires.”

There is only so much time we have to stand in line and only so many hundreds of dollars we can pay. How many calories do we burn standing in line for a half hour anyway? How many calories does Chartwells management burn counting up their profits?

We would not object if OU students willingly took out loans to pay for breakfast, but this is without a doubt a monopoly forced upon us by Chartwells’ relationship with OU.

It is a monopoly that is not only annoying and painful to our wallets, but downright offensive in some cases. Chartwells does not offer options for students with religious or dietary restrictions, making it impossible for some students to find a meal.

Student organizations that serve food at events are lucky to find it being delivered by a hospitable person. While we’re sure that working in food service is no picnic (seeing as we are full-time students, most of us have dipped our toes in the food service job market before), it doesn’t help to have overpriced food delivered by a sour staff.

While tuition, rent and the price of gas are inevitable, the amount we’re paying for food on campus is something we can speak up about and possibly even change.

Chartwells representatives say that the best solution is to make sure that there is no miscommunication between the company and the student body. We need to make sure that this absolutely is the case.

We literally cannot afford to stand by and say, “I only have to put up with this until I graduate.” That is the same destructive attitude that the student body has carried since Chartwells began catering to OU in 2002 and it has allowed this mess to carryover six years later.

If Chartwells will initiate the focus groups that they say they’re working on, we need to enthusiastically participate. It may not be as strong a display as a protest or an editorial, but it is a way to let them know how we feel.

By this time next year, if we’re not seeing real change, then it will be time for real action. That means packing a lunch, buying food elsewhere if we have to hike up a mountain to get it, going on a hunger strike — whatever it takes.

If the Oakland Center is truly intending to service the student body of OU, serious action should be taken quickly in order to remedy this situation.

Let Chartwells know how you feel about their services and prices by holding them to their word, ask for their proposed focus groups to become a reality.

—The author of this week’s cover story did not take part in the writing of this staff editorial.