LETTER TO THE EDITOR: It says student choice, not campus dining choice
On the first floor of the University Center, Central Eats is comprised of five residential restaurants: Build Pizza, Freddy’s, Paper Lantern, Slims Chicken and Tu Taco.
Tu Taco, a student choice station, is supposed to be a station that rotates; therefore, it is the only station that is allowed to be changed. Nevertheless, Tu Taco remains in operation for a third semester and Campus Dining has yet to reach out to students to receive their input for the future of the station.
The station has received mostly negative reviews and struggles with low sales in comparison to stations like Slims Chicken and Freddy’s. Central Eats’ full-time employees and student employees both agree the station needs to be changed to something students want.
At the Tu Taco station, there is a sign that says “Student Choice” yet students have yet to have a voice in the decision-making process for the future of the station. With the Spring of 2023 semester approaching, time to get student input is closing in fast.
So we as students must unite and take part in collective action to convince Campus Dining to allow student input to be a major factor in deciding on a new station for the Spring of 2023. It is important to act now, so we can influence change. We are conducting a survey that gives participants the opportunity to communicate what station option they would like to see next semester.
When Campus Dining officials came and spoke to the Residence Housing Association Oct. 24, they communicated that they were conducting a survey about dining experience on campus. The survey does not include questions about the rotating station. Campus Dining has a goal of at least 600 responses. Therefore, the survey we created to determine what students would prefer as an offering next semester should have at least 600 responses as well.
In addition, while Tu Taco is a student choice station, we believe that everyone in the community should have a voice in the determination of the rotating station. Everyone in the community has an opportunity to dine at the station, not just students. So if you are a university employee, alumni or Isabella County resident, you are invited to be involved in this collective action.
Please complete this survey by Nov. 16 to ensure your voice is heard. Help us obtain our response goal by sharing the survey with classmates, roommates, co-workers, and student organizations.
Thank you for being a part of this important work.
From Central Eats Team Leaders: Kennedy Babicz, JZ Chan, Rafael Garza, Kayla Fish, and Anusha Yarlagadda
From Student Leaders: Bella Andreski, Mady Gott, Addison Hoekstra, Lexi Klassa, Christian Toney.
