Allison Townsend
As I was holding my first Southern News staff meeting the other week and we were throwing around story ideas for our first issue, I found out from my news writer that our salad bar in the Student Center was being replaced with a taco stand – WHAT?!
I cannot believe that the only place I felt I possibly had to turn to for healthy options in the Student Center is now vanished, apparently because of a survey where 300 students claimed that they wanted a Mexican option.
Why wouldn’t they get rid of Sbarro? It is practically the haven for microwaved pizza and greasy pile of slop to pass for Italian food.
I was told there was an option to get salads from the taco stand with the exception that there were less topping choices (which is half the reason why a salad is amazing!). Now it looks like the only salad option in the Student Center is through the pre-made salads, which are made of iceberg lettuce and cucumbers. Ew.
Where are the chickpeas and variety of peppers? What if I was a vegan? What would I eat then?
It took me so long to get used to not eating bad foods and making healthy choices, and now I feel like Southern is trying to make that more difficult for me.
It’s not easy – or cheap – to eat healthy all the time, and even getting salads from Conn Hall can wind up costing you over $7.
For a commuter student like myself, it’s way more convenient for me to have food options in the Student Center, where I spend a lot of time doing schoolwork, than a place like Conn Hall.
I’m discouraged that every option I have to turn to in the Student Center now involves being made with carbs and is prepared for me by someone else instead of being able to make things just the way I like.
There is no way this new Mexican option is going to help anyone’s “Freshman 15” problem over a salad bar.
I understand adding an option for Mexican food. Don’t get me wrong – I love to have Mexican food sometimes. But why remove the only healthy option for it? There are plenty of other useless, space-wasting food options in the Student Center than the salad bar!
I know Doreen Kordorski, our campus Dietician, pushes hard for healthier options on Southern’s campus.
Why are we moving backwards and removing the only options in the Student Center to replace them with more junk?
I want the salad bar back!
