Cafeteria-goers will notice this week’s addition of tuxedo-wearing greeters welcoming them to Chartwells. Beside the greeters, Chartwells has added a condiment bar outside the food court and swinging entry gates.
The company appears to be making an attempt to improve its image. If the new features are indeed a public relations attempt, students should not be fooled.
The changes have in no way fixed most students’ major concern8212;the dismal quality of Chartwells food. The foodservice provider has a near-monopoly on campus dining. This leaves students with some pretty bleak options. Other campus vendors, such as Tony Caputo’s and the few locations of The Point, do offer better choices but are too small to serve the masses and are located on the fringes of campus.
Instead of providing decent food, Chartwells has delivered a few cosmetic and mostly useless changes to win students’ hearts. A man in a tuxedo is fine, but edible food would be better.
By granting our business to a single corporation, the U has done students a disservice.
Administrators should explore other providers and get rid of the Chartwells deal as soon as possible. At the very least, competitors should be invited on campus. For example, many other universities offer mall-type food courts.
Perhaps, rather than risk losing students’ patronage, Chartwells would be inclined to improve its product.