The mandatory meal plans are not cheap, so what are you getting for your money?
The commons is strategically placed in a location that is easily accessible to all persons on the KSU campus. Although with so many people this creates a problem with the seating arrangements. Some students and are not satisfied with the current environment that The Commons provides. Sophomore Hollie Rhodus said, “we need a new facility… we have out grown this building.” Rhodus also shared that one of her friends that attends the University of Georgia says that they have multiple dining room areas that are compatible with meal plan swipes.
Undoubtedly a new building would most likely cause an increase in meal plan price and tuition in general.
Admittedly, KSU does have other places where one can sit down and eat food and buy food, but doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the meal plans? If you are on campus you might as well go to the place where the meal plan swipes are accepted. After all you were forced to buy them. Nonetheless, you walk in; get your food and all of a sudden it is as if you’ve become a lion in the safari. You just gained dominance over the kingdom, have some zebra meat on your plate, but wait there is no room at the watering hole. Do you ask the live zebra two tables down if you can sit down in the extra seat next to them? Unless conducting a sociology experiment, those encounters usually do not end up going so well.
The building is relatively new, clean, but not spacious. So all that money that is spent on meal plans must be for the expenses of the food.
For those of you who are vegetarians or vegan or somewhere in between, or indifferent to their diet, The Commons provides a variety of options for all diets.
Associate Director, Culinary & Hospitality Services, Jenifer Duggan said, “We serve vegetarian and/or vegan items at every station, every day, and offer a selection of alternative proteins like quinoa and tofu.”
The commons is able to prepare less popular items because according to Duggan The Commons practices small- batch cooking, only cooking the minimum amount of food and composing the left overs.
Although for the rest of the population that has no qualms on what they eat there is a wide variety. There are ten available stations always compiled
with different types of food assembled. All of which are flavorful and different and more importantly hot!
Globetrotter, The Commons’ International cuisine platform has a menu that changes daily. This station also wants international students to submit home recipes that they miss and the cooks will do their best to make it just like their parents.
The Commons is also working on growing its own food as to provide a better quality of freshness to our palate. Plus a lot of the food is cooked from scratch.
So while perfection is not the song everyone is singing, it is the on the horizon.
A.J. is a sophomore and a Communication major.
