Boyakasha. I hope you all broke the s--- out of your spring vacations. After places like Acapulco, Key West, and for me, Jamaica, what better place to return to then, um, DURHAM? At least no one here will be offering "Bananas, Parasailing, COCAINE"? Or will they? Shout out to Mike Kovach and his VTECH groupies, the winners of our inaugural Jamaican Apprentice.
Lessons learned: 1. Shaggy is bootleg, but "Sean DE Paul" is a legit Jamaican. 2. Designated driving lanes are only a suggestion. 3. Jerk Chicken is bomb.
Let's get to the issues. WHAT? I said, let's get to the issues. OKAY! Hopefully, it is not too late to save ARAMARK. From what I know, we here at Duke have a pretty good eating situation compared to those at others schools. Everyone bitches about the Marketplace. It's up there with the removal of the Hideaway and the parking situation. But let's be honest. What kind of food are you expecting from a place that has three hours to feed 1,600 people?
The Marketplace isn't designed for fine dining; it's for freshman to have the opportunity to meet people outside of their dorms and not in class. As college students, let alone freshmen, it is simply absurd to expect any more than the level of dining that ARAMARK has provided. So what if you have to eat two meals a day at The Marketplace. You are within walking distance of Cantina, and that, my friends, is a gift.
Meanwhile, the Great Hall has been greatly improved, and the bistro sauce in my chicken cheese wrap is better than ever. As for other options, The Merchants on Points system we have is absurd. In less than an hour, your parents can pay for sushi, fajitas, and ice cream to be delivered to your door. You can have breakfast brought to you by those nice people at Graces. I know these don't have to do with ARAMARK, but they are evidence that the dining selection on campus is actually quite diverse. So let's throw the food quality issue out the window.
Now, let me tell you a little story. Sophomore year, a friend and I started a Duke chapter of Rock and Wrap It Up! a national food collection organization. Duke College Wrap! collects prepared but un-served food from the Marketplace and the Great Hall and delivered it to a local soup kitchen. Over the years we have delivered over 1,000 pounds of food to those who need it. Each pound helps feed 2.5 people. Do the math. (If anyone out there has catered events and left over food, please contact me. We will come pick it up whenever and wherever).
Rock and Wrap It Up! was started by Syd Mandelbaum, a resident of my hometown. In 1994, Syd started collecting all the unserved food left over by backstage catering at Jones Beach Amphitheater on Long Island (WHAT WHAT!). Previously, all the food prepared for each night's show would be thrown out. Now it was being delivered to those who were in desperate need of it. Since then, it has grown to over 500 cities, with over 4,000 volunteers. I have been one of those volunteers for five years now, every summer going backstage to pick up whatever Britney, The Chili Peppers or Moby and their crew didn't eat.
Here at Duke, we started off with only the template of how the program works at concerts. Adapting it to college eateries was a different story. I am being completely sincere when I say that David Randolph, Skip Herrod, and everyone else involved with ARAMARK are the primary reason this program ever got off the ground. Their interest, help, and adaptability to the laziness of college students are a significant factor in why we were able to start these bi-weekly food pickups.
When we hit summer, or a semester abroad, or just plain lack of motivation, David Randolph and his people were right there ready and anxious to start back up as soon as possible. The thing is, they never issued a press release, never called the Chronicle, and never once used this as a way to gain public support.
For all the complaints about ARAMARK, they have helped this community more than 90 percent of Duke students, who used community service in their well off communities to get into Duke, only to drop it once they reached a placed that now actually needed their help.
Meanwhile ARAMARK is in danger of losing their contract, mostly due to these students themselves. A memo from DUSDAC, the student dining committee, stated that "ARAMARK has not added a discernible level of value or excitement" to the University. Neither have Larry Monetta, Nick Horvath or most of the Chronicle editorialists, but we kept them.
Excitement? What are you looking for? Food that talks back? If my french fries spoke, I would bitch slap them back to Paris. Or Amsterdam. Whatever. I understand Duke is boring a lot of the time, but I don't expect to find that fun in the dining services. Save ARAMARK. There is so much more we can be using this effort to change than the ingredients in the chili.
Lastly, Big Ups to MVP "THE" Robbie F, BizMarkie and the rest of Duke Hockey, the ACCHL regular season and Tournament Champions." See you guys in two weeks. Until then, keep evertin Irie.
Tal Hirshberg is a Trinity senior. His column appears every other Tuesday.
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