No soda fountains, no problem?

When West Union opened last week, students suddenly had more than a dozen new dining options. There was one thing that was noticeably absent—soda fountains.

The missing soda fountains are supposed to be part of a concerted effort to “focus on healthy eating throughout the building,” Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, previously explained to The Chronicle. He went on to claim that this health-centric motivation “is reflected by the various menu items and the emphasis on fresh, nutritious and communal.”

Moneta is correct that soda isn’t healthy, but that seems to be where his legitimacy on the issue ends. His statement claiming an emphasis on “healthy eating” suggests that he has either never visited West Union or is unfamiliar with basic nutritional guidelines.

There is nothing “nutritious” about the frappes and gelato at the Café. There is nothing “nutritious” about a 12-ounce bone-in pork chop and tiramisu at JB’s Roasts & Chops. There is nothing “nutritious” about starting your day with biscuits smothered in gravy and following it with fried chicken and mac-and-cheese at the Skillet Southern Cookery. And even Moneta must know that the pizza, chicken alfredo and wings at Il Forno aren’t “nutritious.” But thank God that I’m not able to ruin my “nutritious” meal by washing it down with soda.

In the absence of soda fountains, administration has fortunately introduced other, superfood beverage options including sweetened tea and fruit-in-jug water. For those looking for an even more “nutritious” option, they need look no further than the ten beers on tap at the Devil’s Krafthouse in the lower level of the West Union.

It is clear that the administration is selectively and arbitrarily banning unhealthy foods and drinks for little purpose other than that the action looks good. Instead of parading a false notion of health built on the back of an ineffective soda fountain ban, the university should actually work to encourage students to eat healthy.

Administrators should give students as much information as possible on what they’re consuming. If they’re truly concerned about students’ dining habits, they should mandate that nutrition information be clearly visible at campus restaurants so that students are aware of how unhealthy some options are when ordering.

This should be done in conjunction with the continued introduction of healthier dining options like Sprout and the Farmstead on campus. At this point, if someone still chooses to eat fried chicken with mac-and-cheese every day, that’s their decision, not Moneta’s. Further, the ultimate goal shouldn’t be to abolish all unhealthy food and beverages on campus. The administration’s focus should simply be to ensure that healthy dining options exist and that students understand the full implications of what they are eating.