Commuters deserve respect they pay for
Campus Times
February 20, 1998
Commuters lack the respect they pay for at this University. There have
been numerous occasions, when commuters wish only to be inside Davenport,
shielded from the cold, with no intent of eating, but are denied this right.
Why?
If commuters pay tuition to attend the University, they are paying for
the right to use any facility. Granted, resident students pay added fees,
which entitle them to delicious meals at Davenport, as well as other necessities
in the residence halls.
However, paying $2,275 does not pay for a building. It pays for food
and services rendered by the Davenport staff. Moreover, if that is what
we are paying for, why then can't commuters sit inside and eat their own
food?
It was a regular Wednesday afternoon when a few of my friends and I
walked into Davenport in search for something to eat. The four of us walked
up to the counter and presented our identification cards.
Meanwhile, our commuter friend walked behind us and found a place for
all of us to sit. She neatly pulled out her brown paper lunch bag with her
sandwich and her drink.
As we placed our red trays down on the table, a Davenport employee walked
up to my friend and asked for her meal card. When she explained she was
not a resident, she was asked to leave the premises. Awed, we angrily picked
up our trays and sat in the cold, outside Davenport, wishing we could be
inside.
It sounds ridiculous that having a person inside or outside a building
can make any difference. It is true that having a person outside diminishes
the chances of them being able to eat free food. But, if resident students
are allowed to enter and exit Davenport numerous times during the meal hours,
couldn't they easily pick up a second tray for their commuter friend? I
know it is possible, because I have seen it done.
Employees at Davenport must surely realize this is happening. It is
common and useless for them to enforce their rules with students who are
not even using their services, nor eating their food.
I have always been with the idea that if someone treats me with respect,
I will be more inclined to give that respect back and to take advantage
of it.
Instead of using this approach, Davenport punishes students who openly
admit they live off campus.
Armen Ananian, food services director for Aramark, said the reason for
doing this is because students "can't be controlled. Once you open
that door, it is all you can eat."
I understand this, but Davenport is losing by kicking students to the
outside tables rather than allowing them inside with their own lunches.
At least inside, these students can be monitored.
Ananian's next reason was that "allowing brown paper lunches,"
would "take up the space" of dorm students. Even if this was true,
not all dorm students head to Davenport.
When students enter dorm rooms, they are not kicked out because they
are commuters. An example is Interterm when a group of chemistry students,
including myself, met at the Stu-Han study lounge to prepare for our chemistry
tests. Among those students were commuters.
These students were not spending the night, using the showers, or any
other utilities dorm life offers. This same example could be applied to
Davenport. In both cases, students simply walked into the facilities and
exercised their right to be there.
Angelica Martinez, a junior journalism major, is arts and entertainment
editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at amartine@ulv.edu.
