Food good, no double punch bad

When we toured campus before our freshman year, we undoubtedly were told JMU has some of the best food offered at state universities. It was as believable then as it is now since so many recent improvements have been made to all the dining facilities.

An article in the Nov. 19 issue of The Breeze discussed suggestions students offered at a forum on campus food services.

Considering food is generally very good on campus, students had some nit-picky concerns. Juniors Mariana Bowling and Andrea Morley and senior Stephen Reynolds were pushing for Fair Trade Coffee, a brand of coffee to be placed in different locations around campus. The main reason behind this is because the company does not clear cut land or underpay its workers. Students haven't generally given that much thought to where their beverages came from in the past.

Concerns also were raised that JMU needs flavored lemonade at PC Dukes, soy milk, raisins and mixed greens at Mrs. Greens and a different kind of cranberry sauce at the Festival. These seem to be menial concerns compared to the non-food related concerns students see as problems.

Students requested the use of a double punch on the weekends, and the dining administration turned this idea down. Stephanie Hoshower, the operations director for Dining Services, said the reason for denying the request was that students have limited time during the week and missing a meal on the weekend is a student's choice. This is simply not the case.

What Hoshower is overlooking are the many students who are involved in extracurricular activities on the weekends, making meals more difficult to schedule. The weekend is a time when students leave campus and are unable to use their punches during the time periods they will be gone. Students are more likely to eat out at off-campus restaurants on the weekend, wanting to use their punches for extra food to put in their refrigerators. Students have paid for meal plans and simply should be able to use punches when they want. Dining Services should not regulate when students can get food.

From a student viewpoint, it seems Dining Services is trying to save money. If double punches were allowed on the weekend, Dining Services would lose money because absent students could get their extra punch in before or after they are gone.

The price of a punch is $4 with tax included and is not enough to satisfy many appetites. The punch limit has not been raised with the addition of premium food items, including a particular brand of 12-ounce soda at Dukes costing $1.35, or gourmet sandwiches, costing upwards of $4 to $5 a serving. Combos are insufficient meals for many plan-holders and include only cumbersome fountain drinks that can't be thrown into a bag when students are on the go. The all-you-can eat facilities of D-hall and Let's Go are limited. D-hall has the no take-out rule and Let's Go is open only for lunch on weekdays.

Students will continue to balk at the portion value of their meals as they are in search of the elusive "satisfying punch."

The food at JMU is good and has been getting exponentially better each semester. But the price it takes to get a full belly is rising. If Dining Services is going to offer higher-priced items, the price of a punch should be raised. And for heaven's sake, let the poor people double punch on the weekend.