I ate at Au Bon Pain almost every day for two years. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration, but it certainly felt like it. Whether it was an extra chopped salad or a poorly cut sandwich, my diet was dominated by ABP and the other limited vendors available on campus during the closing of the West Union.
But within this food wasteland appeared oases in which to take refuge from ABP. Wednesday was always crepe day and nothing said goodbye to dieting like double-fisting with a chicken pesto crepe in one hand and Raspberry-Nutella in the other. When I was not in the mood for the daily food truck, I knew that almost whatever the hour I could order copious amounts of hummus from Mediterra or a couple California Rolls from Sushi Love. It was the food trucks and Merchants-on-Points that made Duke Dining rank fifth in the nation, when it might have crashed without the West Union.
Students are grateful for the positive impact these vendors had on our lives over the past three years. It is for that reason there has been so much student animosity towards recent changes to Duke Dining.
For those unaware there have been two major differences in on-campus dining this semester. First, the food trucks have been moved from their previous location in front of the Duke Chapel to the Kilgo Parking Lot and Swift Avenue. Second, students are only able to order from Merchant-On-Points (MOP) after the hour of 8 p.m.
Since these decisions were made, Duke Student Government’s Fix My Campus has been abuzz with complaints from agitated students. One post laments the now inconvenient locations of the food trucks. Another suggests that students try to reverse the changes to MOP as was done in 2011. Still a third emphasizes the distinct lack of food options on Central Campus.
More heartbreaking than any of these posts was a letter written by Ji-Myung Kim of Mixed Korean Truck to the Chronicle, suggesting that Duke Dining had “set food trucks up for failure, to the students’ detriment.” As one of those students who knows both the value of MOP and the food trucks, I can only begin to feel his pain.
However, before I go on to my own critiques of these policies, certain rumors about them must be dispelled. These changes were not due to some elaborate conspiracy of the administration to eliminate student’s vendors and promote the West Union.
After corresponding with Robert Coffey, Executive of Dining Services, I hope to bring to light the administration’s reasoning behind these changes. While it is a tragedy that our food trucks are experiencing decreased student traffic and revenue, leaving them at the Chapel was not an option. In short, the food trucks were fire hazards in their previous location and to keep them there required Duke to pay significant fines.
Despite these fines, Duke Dining still kept the food trucks in their previous location for one more semester until the West Union opened. However, with the opening of the West Union two issues come to the forefront. One, whether their location is worth paying the fines, and two the fact that regardless of the fine they still indirectly affect the safety of Duke students on West Campus. Either way Coffey made it clear that food trucks were notified of the impending location changes by mid-summer.
Beyond that as Coffey noted, “Duke Dining advocated for Duke students in two instances.” First, with the movement of undergraduate students into previously unoccupied apartment on Swift, the food trucks there provides them a realistic option considering the distance to Devil’s Bistro. Second, Duke Dining had the option to remove food trucks completely from West Campus following the significant fines. However rather than take the easy route out, Duke Dining fought to find a location to accommodate the necessities for a food truck somewhere on West. For these reasons, I believe that the administration made the right overall decision regarding food trucks on West Campus.
The changes to Merchants-on-Points reveal a different logic on the other hand. When the West Union was closed it made sense to extend Merchant-On-Points hours. However, with the opening of the West Union, Duke now has close to 60 vendors available to students. The issue now becomes one of supply and demand. It is impossible for vendors to remain on-campus if they do not have enough traffic, and the MOP hours affect said traffic. Consequently, with the opening of the West Union, students have to prepare for MOP hours not to change back.
Although the reasoning appears sound in the grand scheme of the university, it fails to justify both the lack of communication and temporary solutions. I do not think the fault of communication lies with Duke Dining, however, but with DUSDAC (Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee).
According to Coffey, students have been involved in almost every step of the process concerning Merchants-on-Points and food trucks. Irrespective of one’s opinion about the changes, the fact of the matter remains that these changes were made with student input but without the knowledge of the general student body. Consequently, changes that are thought to be representative of work between students and administrators become an unfortunate surprise to the average undergraduate.
Both students and the administration should have seen how these changes might affect Central Campus residents and come up with temporary solutions to alleviate the situation. With the closing of Grace’s Café, Central Campus residents are left with only Devil’s Bistro as a truly on campus venue. From my experience with ABP, I know how monotonous one food vendor can get. I understand that Central Campus is being torn down, but until it physically is gone, more options must become available for its residents.
According to DSG President Tara Bansal, Duke Student Government has been pursuing solutions since the summer, highlighted here. These are several steps in the right direction. Potential solutions include the extension of hours for certain Merchants-on-Points vendors as well as the creation of a delivery service using West Union vendors. These efforts are most certainly a way to help central campus students in the short term.
However, whatever the solution, one fact remains clear: DUSDAC must start and continue to include the larger student body in the conversations it has with administrators. After all, its role is to bridge the gap between students and the administrators in charge of dining. Whether it means making a Facebook page or having an email blast similar to that of SOFC, DUSDAC must start to expand its reach. As long as it leaves the general student body out of the conversation, students will continue to be misinformed about their dining experience and a productive conversation will remain out of the question.
While I appreciate Brian Taylor’s column, explanations are hollow and meaningless when not backed with concrete ideas for the future. At this point in time, students deserve more than just explanations. It is my hope that DUSDAC will go on to write something more along the lines of “Duke Dining: our solutions” to illustrate its commitment to actually resolving the problems.
George Mellgard is a Trinity senior. His column, “esse quam videri,” runs on alternate Wednesdays.
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