So Dartmouth's administrators probably think they're creating the next generation of intellectual leaders. While that may be right, they are also creating the next generation of candidates for lipo suction and quadruple bypass surgery. Now I realize that we are located in the middle of nowhere, but you'd think that perhaps a college as wealthy as ours would be able to import some sort of food that isn't fried or dripping in grease from civilization. But perhaps they are all just a little too busy trying to end the Greek system. Hmm...does anyone else think that their priorities are a little off balance?
It's not as though the issue of healthy food in our dining halls is a new one. Last term, Dartmouth Dining Services promised the Student Assembly that we would in fact have food options that would allow us to not become some of America's most obese citizens. They promised greater permanent vegetarian options as well as healthy daily specials in Lone Pine Tavern and at least one entree reminiscent of Home Plate in Food Court every night. Promises,promises, promise. Obviously the folks at DDS are not men and women of their word.
As is typical of college administrators, I'm sure the powers that be in Thayer will be able to present me with a myriad of excuses as to why they have been unable to give us any significant healthy food options. Frankly, I don't care. The term has started, and we have all had to begin using our mandatory DBA. If students didn't register on time at the beginning of each term, we would be fined. So why is there seemingly no sanction against DDS when it doesn't follow through with its beginning-of-the-term responsibilities?
Since DDS appears unable or unwilling to give us healthy food options, I'm going to help them out with a list of suggestions. My first idea is quite simple. It's still the beginning of the term, so DDS could just follow through on its original promise of offering significant healthy food options in Food Court and Lone Pine Tavern. But seeing as this has not yet happened, what faith should we really have in DDS to make it happen over the next few days?
If Food Court and Lone Pine are not transformable and are forever destined to remain havens for future heart attack victims, then I am led into my second alternative to provide healthy food options. Why not just open Home Plate for Summer term? After all, if students are expected to perform in classes, the same as any term, why shouldn't we be given the same recourses? At this thought, I can just envision Tucker Rossiter saying that there just isn't enough money to do that. But it is not the job of students to worry about the College's finances, particularly when we attend one of the nation's wealthiest institutions. It is, however, the job of ALL college administrators to improve student life on our campus. After all, that is what our Trustees did command from on high, and students should not be the only ones having to follow through with student life improvements.
If DDS continues to fail to provide any significant healthy food options for students, then they at the very least should not demand our money. DBA is mandatory for all students, even those living off campus. Many Dartmouth students simply do not have money to throw around, and so after paying for mandatory DBA, no longer have enough money in order to buy healthy food elsewhere. Mandatory DBA coupled with the severe draught in healthy food options is a classist policy that allows only wealthy students to eat healthy food and forces all other students to eat fattening, unhealthy meals or the same grilled chicken sandwich and salad every day for the entire term.
I'm going to try to end my column on a somewhat optimistic note that Rossiter and his comrades over at DDS will provide healthy food in our dining halls in the immediate future. But by not following through with their promise to do so in the past, DDS has given the student body no reason to trust it. Therefore, I demand that DDS prove the options it claims are healthy actually are healthy. We deserve to know what we are eating. Whenever we walk into a McDonalds or Burger King we can look at charts detailing the calories, grams of fat, and other nutritional value information of every item on the menu. I demand that DDS provide us with the same information for every item on every menu in every dining hall. Honesty is the very least they could give students.
Dartmouth is supposedly getting serious on improving the quality of student life on our campus. It's about time they did something to show this to the entire student body. Clearly, this column will anger DDS administrators and it could make them so angry that out of spite they won't want to accept any of my suggestions. However, they need to prove that students can freely speak out against the administration without fearing sanctions. Regardless of what students do or say, College administrators have a responsibility to ensure and improve the quality of student life.
