Dining services taking over club meals

This fall, student clubs will have to say goodbye to Davanni’s pizza, Noodles and Company dishes and Chipotle burritos at weekly convocation hour meetings.

The biggest change in the new purchasing regulations, and the change that will affect students most, is that food for any campus function will have to be ordered through campus catering services instead of from off-campus vendors.

The remnants of one club's lunchtime meeting stack up. (John Kruger/TommieMedia)
The remnants of one club's lunchtime meeting stack up. (John Kruger/TommieMedia)

The new regulations are based on Board of Trustees recommendations, and it will take time for students to get used to the changes, said Margaret Cahill, campus life director.

“It’s clubs and organizations and groups like USG and STAR [that will be affected],” Cahill said. “I think some of the things that will be a challenge for some folks will be that this isn’t Jimmy John’s or it isn’t Pizza Hut. Do I still think it’ll be really great subs or really great pizzas? Yes.”

She said the new system will help “streamline” the current food ordering process.

“The current system assumes that students have the money to go out and pay $100 for the club’s food that day,” Cahill said. “And I can’t tell you how many times students will pay for things out of their own pocket and lose the receipt and they don’t get reimbursed. But with this new way you just charge it to your club or org.”

Reasons behind purchasing changes

The changes were made partly to keep money on campus and reduce tax liabilities, said Todd Empanger, dining services director.

“I refer to it as Monopoly money,” Empanger said. “It’s the university’s money in the first place and when you spend it internally it goes toward the service groups that are here.”

He described the changes as “teachable moments” for students.

“Students will learn they need to manage funds within the university,” he said. “Most of the clubs and all that are used to doing whatever they want and now there’s going to be some guidelines. Students need to understand: it’s not that we’re against them – students need to work with us.”

He said the changes “are more to benefit the university” than to benefit the students.

Shift from off-campus vendors to catering services

A “user group” was formed to develop the new dining services policies and is currently doing a marketing price study, Empanger said. He said the university’s prices for food items are “way under” prices at other universities. But he added it might be harder for dining services to compete with certain food vendors’ prices.

“When you’re comparing to buying bulk, like Costco or Wal-Mart and all that, they get a better deal up front, so some of that we can’t compete with. We’re not sure yet what the administration wants us to do with that.”

The user group is also creating a standard menu that campus event coordinators or student leaders can use to order food for on-campus events or meetings. It will include basics such as sub sandwiches and pizza in addition to “ethnic foods,” Empanger said.

“It will probably include Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Indian options,” Empanger said. “Like the HANA group, whatever kinds of food they want, we’ll try to include those in our choices. They just won’t have the choice to go to all these different restaurants.”

No students are currently in the user group that is determining the policy decisions, Empanger said, although he said they have gotten feedback from Residence Life and Campus Life on what students are looking for.

He said to make the new method work, students will have to give catering services advance notice for food orders.

“We’d love a week’s notice or more,” Empanger said. “But we’re going to set up some programs that will be set up for last-minute things so they can have [food] when they need it.”

Student leader reactions

The switch from off-campus food vendors to catering services will be a good way for the university to save money, but some people might resent it because it’s new, said Dwight Anderson, undergraduate student government president.

“Nothing’s ever permanent, so we’ll see how it goes this year,” he said. “It’s basically like a trial year, first year they’re doing it, so always subject to change.”

The changes might affect meeting turnouts, Anderson said. He also said they might change how students explore restaurants around the Twin Cities through clubs and organizations.

“That [opportunities to go to restaurants] is the biggest issue and it will change,” Anderson said. “But we’ll just sit back and see how it looks for the first months.”

Corey Dahl, USG vice president of public relations, said the move could save clubs money in the long run and the changes won’t put any one club at a disadvantage since all clubs will be dealing with the same rules.

Dahl is also a member of the Aquinas Scholars Honors program executive board, and he said they, like many other clubs, will be affected by the new regulations.

“We used to get pasta from Pizza Hut or Noodles and Company for our weekly meetings, so it’ll be a change,” he said.

But he said he thinks Dining Services will be able to offer enough food options to keep people happy.

Other purchasing changes

Any purchase over $3,000 will go through a bidding process where at least three preferred vendors submit their bids. Most printing projects will be required to go through on-campus printing services and there will be two preferred vendors for travel-related purchases such as airline tickets.

Dahl went through the bidding process when he ordered T-shirts for USG to distribute at homecoming. He said the process worked well and they got a good price for the shirts.

“St. Thomas has always encouraged bidding and had preferred vendors, but some students didn’t always realize we had preferred vendors,” said Karen Harthorn, director of purchasing services.

Help with changes

There will be information sessions at the Fall Leadership Institute to help student leaders learn about the food purchasing changes and Campus Life is always available to answer questions, Cahill said.

Katie Broadwell can be reached at klbroadwell@stthomas.edu.

50 Replies to “Dining services taking over club meals”

  1. “It’s clubs and organizations and groups like USG and STAR [that will be affected],” Cahill said. “I think some of the things that will be a challenge for some folks will be that this isn’t Jimmy John’s or it isn’t Pizza Hut. Do I still think it’ll be really great subs or really great pizzas? Yes.”

    If this means that Scooter’s will be making all of the pizzas for club events, I propose we just buy a bunch of those two dollar frozen pizzas from Cub Foods. Not only are they cheaper, but they taste a lot better too. In fact, while we’re at it, we could save on energy by not cooking them and eating them frozen, because they’d still taste better than Scooter’s pizza.

  2. I am the vice-president of chemistry club see this as another way for St. Thomas to be greedy and not think about what the students really want. Before they can turn around and take a step like this they should have to go through the students themselves as it is really us who is most affected by this.

  3. I couldn’t believe this when I read it. What’s next? St. Thomas is going to have mandatory study hours each night and require bathroom passes to leave class? I’m all for trying to trim things out of the budget to become a more efficient operating university, but at what “cost” is the administration willing to do that?

  4. No Students on the the advisory board? This is typical.  Off Campus food is often the most basic draw for students to come to weekly club events, and it’s a motivator for new members.

  5. This is going to cost more money for clubs… USG had better provide them with more money…

  6. More or less I find myself agreeing with the above comments. I am incredibly skeptical that this change wil be agreeable to myself, my club members, and the viability of my clubs.
    I believe this policy will lower club meeting attendance since our meetings are during the lunch hour which is some students only opportunity to get a meal in the open hour of their schedule. If I weren’t a executive board member I honestly would choose a good meal over some the various convo hour activities and meetings I have attended in the last three years and in the coming school year.
    I disagree that this makes for a “teachable moment” since a club must properly manage its budget whether they acquire their food on or off campus or else go without at the end of the semester. I find the most telling piece of this article to be “[Todd Empanger, dining services director] said the changes ‘are more to benefit the university’ than to benefit the students.”

  7. I think the biggest concern should be held by the hall councils. They are in charge of treating their halls to some sort of special event every once in a while. One of the things they plan is off campus food coming in as a treat! I think substituting that food with regular campus food defeats the purpose. As for other clubs, I think that it wont be too big of difference. I would like to think that the selling point for people to go to clubs is not the food…

  8. I’m wondering if anyone who’s upset about this has ordered food for an event through dining services before? We had pizza and box lunches through DS for ULC meetings, and the food was always really good. On the other hand, at a club meeting I went to last year, someone’s acrylic nail had fallen off in a meal ordered from off campus.

    I understand the frustration, but considering the frustration expressed in the comments on a previous TM article regarding perceived excessive club costs and student activity fees, it doesn’t seem totally unreasonable.

  9. hah… they found another way to mess with food. First it was ruining the Taste of Saints, now this… that’s too bad

  10. Best part about this article?
    I’m lucky enough to have graduated this spring. That’s the only bright spot I can see.

    Dear St. Thomas: Did you forget unless you have an overhaul that would make Exhibit from Pimp My Ride blush with your food cafeteria no one wants to eat your food – ever.

  11. “It will probably include Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Indian options,”

    I’m sorry, but I’ve had the Chinese food in the caf… it’s not quite the same as Cleveland Wok.

  12. Well said Shane.
    I’m feeling very fortunate to only have a year left. However, I feel very unfortunate to be a club co-president this year. I agree with the above statements. What is St. Thomas going to do next? Not fund for clubs? Upcharge the tuition costs that WE pay that go towards clubs and campus activites? This is sad.

  13. And just when I thought St. Thomas couldn’t become a more “out-of-touch” university. Firstly, they get rid of the Arts department, which was severely lacking to begin with. I’m sorry, but any university that can afford to build a new athletic complex as well as an already-paid, yet un-built student center, can afford to spare some cash, so that St. Thomas can have a theater apartment. A Liberal Arts college, that doesn’t even have an “Arts” dept, is not a university. St. Thomas is officially a college. Now, they disallow any individual who is chained to the university without the use of outside transportation, the ability to have non-campus food. What about the ethnic clubs? What about opening an individual’s eyes to the world via gastronomy? How about discovering the diversity encased in the Twin Cities? I am the vice-president of Geography Club, and now I have to get rid of any sort of plan(s) to host any ethnic event, where outside food would have been needed. Unless, that is, the cafeteria or Scooter’s is capable of making Tikka Masala…yeah…I don’t think so. Frankly, this college is stifling its students, and this is just another way to take a breath of life out of college.

  14. What especially amuses me here is St. Thomas’ usual attempt to convince us the students that the changes are for our benefit, when in reality, they’re for the benefit of the university’s checkbook. Not that I’m surprised by this, it’s been happening ever since I started going here a couple years ago. Kudos to Todd though for being honest and saying that the changes were meant to benefit the school more than the students. I wish that happened more around here.

  15. Also–is the university dining service going to be able to handle all those food orders on convo days? I know some clubs have 100+ members and order 30 or so pizzas per meeting. It will also be interesting to see how long this policy lasts and who will be able to “work around it” based on where the money is coming from. Do only student clubs funded by USG have to follow this? What about clubs that are funded by university departments and get no USG funding? Will they be held to the same standard? I’m guessing no.

  16. Even though I had so much to say about this when starting to write, it just didn’t seem worth it to waste my time sending a message to St. Thomas.  It really doesn’t matter what we say on here anyway.  We didn’t get a chance to debate it in the first place, so why waste the brain power.  Good morning SOCIALISM.  That’s all I can say.  Wait, let me repeat something.  Good morning SOCIALISM.

  17. Does anyone know where to get the actual text of the new purchasing regulations?

  18. Wow, there seems to be a lot of bad blood directed act Dining Services and the university in general. While I could take issue with many of the things said in the article or in the comments I would rather have a real conversation about it with people instead of anonymous posters. My name is Josh I am the supervisor at the C-Store and I would be more than happy to discuss any issues you all might have with this new policy. You can reach me at jdmoldenhaue@stthomas.edu or call my work phone at 962-6079. While I can only speak officially for the C-Store I’d be more than happy to answer any questions I can. Also, for those of you about to abandon ship why not check out the catering menus at http://www.stthomas.edu/dining/menus/printableMenus/default.html. Every meal I’ve ever had that has been catered has been exceptional and with the addition of Ken Grogg as the new executive chef the food the café is producing will only get better. On a more personal note to Regan Meyer, I cooked for around three years at the 128 café. When I was cooking there it was rated by Zygat as one of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities. I’d be more than happy to cook some Tikka Masala for you and I’m sure if I make something you don’t like Ken could make something you will. Thanks for…

  19. While I believe everyone (clubs, dining services, etc.) is going to be posed with challenges with these changes, I believe it is a bit premature to jump to so many conclusions.  While I agree, it would be nice to be able to purchase food from off-campus vendors, we cannot make judgments (yet) about the product dining services will be offering this fall.  Again, I suppose it is unfortunate students were not included in the user group (and I will try to do something about this), but let us not rush to judgments so soon.  If things are not working, USG, dining services, and any other affected groups will definitely have to continue to look at all options.  Also, socialism may be a bit extreme…

    If you have any concerns about this policy (especially when we all become oriented with it this fall), please do not hesitate to contact me.  You can email me at usgvppr@stthomas.edu.

  20. Hey guys I was shocked to here the news too. Looking at the whole picture, we do have a new Chief Chef so the food will be better and prices will not be as high as previous years which is huge! We’re still waiting on the final menu and as of right now and my fingers are crossed. Hopefully it’s some good stuff! We [USG] will keep a close eye of how the first months go, but as for now we will wait and see how it turns out. Feel free to contact me at anytime usgpresident@stthomas.edu or stop by my the leadership room.

  21. I undertand the reasonings behind these changes. But as president of SWE (Society of Women Engineers), I am very concerned about this new way of doing things. I do not, in any way, find the food here at St. Thomas “bad.” My main concern is getting new membership to our clubs. For SWE (being a female engineering club, of course), it is already very difficult to find new memberships. Offering food from off-campus was always a way to draw in new members. As Shane Delaney stated before: how will the campus provide so much food for that many clubs? Will smaller clubs such as SWE have to worry that other larger clubs such as STAR (a club strictly related to St. Thomas) will get first “dibs” on food when it comes to lunch? Especially with so many orders at once? Secondly: one of the only other ways to draw members is by having speakers from engineering companies come to St. Thomas, bring lunch, and talk about their work. This is also difficult because they tend to go to larger schools with engineering programs such as the U of M. And thirdly: as being one of the smallest SWE chapters, SWE does not provide a lot of money for us. I am not completely discouraged and I’m willing to give it a try, but even if the first meeting is a flop, it really does effect the rest of the year…

  22. I am the president of the Quiz Bowl Team “club.” We NEVER have food at our meetings, so this new policy doesn’t affect me at all — except as a member of the Computer Science club, whose president is on the futon across from me and who will probably file a complaint as soon as he gets done shouting and cursing.

    Still, it bothers me. If it were a clear money-saving move I could understand it, since activity funds have been strained lately. But it’s not, is it? It’s a money-grab. And a profoundly arrogant one, at that. This Todd Empanger fellow says some very disappointing things. “Monopoly money?” “The university’s money?” “Teachable *moments*?” Where does Mr. Empanger think this money *comes* from?

    Hint: IT IS OUR MONEY. It is EXPLICITLY and SEPARATELY funded through MANDATORY student activity fees, paid by STUDENTS. It is emphatically NOT the university’s money, and it is even LESS so than normal operating funds. This is piracy.

    Not that I care, mind you. Doesn’t affect me.

    Finally, Corey, you know I like you and I vote for you every chance I get — but, c’mon. “Posed with challenges”? It’s “premature to jump to conclusions”? The only people who use those phrases are politicians, and they mean, (respectively) “You are doomed,” and…

  23. Let’s try that again:

    Corey, the only people who use those phrases are politicians, and they mean, (respectively) “You are doomed,” and…and “please die quietly.”

    Incidentally, TommieMedia, the comment character limit is still wrong — my comments get cut off a full twenty to thirty characters before the official limit.

    And, as long as I’ve got the extra space now, I’d like to second Sarah’s comment. A fine article, Ms. Broadwell.

  24. I am extremely disappointed with these new rules, as a student, as a club president, and as a proponent of the free market. While I thank Mr. Empanger for his honesty that this is just a money grab to benefit the university, I think his comments also echo the how out of touch the administrators are.
    The money that funds clubs is not “the university’s money.” The money belongs to the students, is for the students, and should be spent by the students. This is the money that you and I pay for so that we can have concerts and clubs. If we can’t have good concerts, then you would think we could at least have good food at our club meetings.
    Speaking of the quality of the food, Scooters pizza has tasted like cardboard with ketchup on it for as long as any of us have been at St. Thomas, why should we believe that it will suddenly get better.  
    Even ignoring the quality of the food, the price will make meetings during lunch prohibitively expensive. Pizza Hut sells almost any large pizza for $10.  Why is it 27.5% more expensive to purchase one from St. Thomas?
    I think that the response from our USG leaders leaves a lot to be desired as well.  Students are not happy about this, and our elected officials should be representing the views of the students

  25. I think its perfectly predictable how this plays out. In a year or two, Clubs will demand more funding to cover the increased cost of UST Catering. As a direct result, our activities fee will increase. There is little reason to believe these new rules are anything more then UST forcing students to write a personal check to the catering service. 

  26. A point to make as the VP of the UST German Club, and a long experienced Club Officer.
    How are we able to provide our members with authentic German Cuisine from local restaurants (our cities being the epicenter of German culture in the US) with such a restriction set in place? This may in some form be a pro for the University in a financial sense, and may not directly affect other campus organizations, but it has a direct negative effect on any attempts by UST “culture” clubs and organizations to provide any form of cultural diversity in a club/extracurricular setting (which is difficult enough to get in the first place, the number one component within our club is cuisine).

  27. Mr. Heaney, I definitely appreciate your candor.

    I spoke briefly with Mr. Empanger, and he is open to having some students sit on the user group to determine menu items that will be offered through campus catering.  Please contact me (usgvppr@stthomas.edu) if you are interested in participating in this group.

    I understand the frustration all are feeling with this new policy.  But please know that USG is acutely aware of these concerns and will continue to hear and deal with them as we begin the semester and beyond.  As a council, we certainly make the campus environment as best as possible for all students, so we will take action as needed.

  28. Doesn’t all of the clubs money come from Student Activity fees. Meaning it is not the universities money to cycle through like monopoly money. It is the university turning student activity money into their own throw DS. 

    Also, what will clubs do when they go on trips and don’t have access to DS food. Can they still be reimbursed under those conditions?

  29. Corey,
    Is there any way that a group of students, including club presidents, could have any sort of discussion or forum with the person that actually made this decision? The article states that the board made a recommendation, not a requirement. I personally know that I would like to ask questions about this policy, they way that it is going to be implemented, and how it will affect both myself as a club president and my club.

  30. WHY WERE STUDENTS NOT INCLUDED IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS? That’s what USG is for. That’s why I was elected to be on it. USG is not an organization that changes policy, but we certainly can influence it.  I understand the cost saving benefits to this, but my problem is the service Dining Services provides. For many of the events my council did last year we looked into the feasibility of using DS and they were always more expensive. It’s my hope that with the new menu they will upgrade their food options and prices, but in the end we’ll have to take whatever they provide.

  31. Ryan, if you are off-campus at a conference, or something, you would go through the same reimbursement process.  In that case, DS catering is not possible.  Unless, of course, you have them make you a ton of cold lunches…

    Mark, I can check on that for you.

  32. Did anyone look at the menu posted by Joshua Moldenhauer?
    It sounds like the prices are not set in stone but $1.25 for a canned soda? $12:50 for a pepperoni pizza?
    I was CFO of Entrepreneurship Society last year and handled all of the food orders. I used to be able to order large pizza’s from Papa Johns for $6. And even if I had to buy 12 packs of pop at SA it was about $.40 a can. Based on the price difference, my budget would have to double or our club experience would suffer. This is certainly a money grab for the university, they are taking the margins from local restaurants and franchisees and keeping it for themselves, at the detriment of the clubs and their members.
    This ‘solution’ the administration has come up with doesn’t address the real problem/question: Why aren’t clubs already using catering services? It’s not that the quality is bad. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal catered by St. Thomas. It’s all about pricing. It’s a trade-off. Are you going to have St. Thomas food or are you going to have Papa Johns and then go bowling or something social for the club.

  33. Now because clubs are on a set budget and the price food is going up so much, the clubs will either
    1) Have food at your meetings less. Which sucks. People say it shouldn’t be about the food and it isn’t but who’s going to go to a meeting over lunch if you don’t get fed something?
    2) Have fewer meetings because you can’t afford to have them. Which sucks.
    3) Do fewer social activities because you can’t afford them. Which sucks. This goes against everything the clubs are there for.
    4) Or the university will raise club fees and raise club budgets. Which sucks. And it’s pretty ridiculous we have to pay these anyway.

    Entrepreneurship Society has been known to bring in restaurant entrepreneurs to speak at their meetings and most often would purchase the food for that meeting from the entrepreneur’s restaurant. UST catering might be able to mimic foreign cuisine from anywhere, but that isn’t exactly the point in this case.

  34. In all honesty, this decision makes some business sense. Why pay other companies to make food when St. Thomas can make a lot of money keeping the orders internal. It doesn’t matter that they can’t compete with Papa Johns cost cutting that allows them to sell me pizza’s for $6, because as long as St. Thomas make any margin on the transaction, they are better off than just shelling out cash to restaurants. It’s not efficient but it makes some sense.
    I also don’t understand how St. Thomas saves money on taxes in this deal. As a non-profit they shouldn’t pay taxes anyway. I used to get food for our meetings tax free.
    The only really good part about this is that it solves the problem of club officials (like I was) shelling out cash to pay for the meals and then waiting two weeks to be reimbursed, because I know first hand that this was a big pain, but there are many other options to solve this problem as well.

  35. Matt, thanks for taking the time to read what I wrote and to take a look at the catering menu. I believe you are correct, the prices are not set in stone and for sure the catering menu is currently being revised. Also I am not entirely sure that we’ll be keeping the standard margins for clubs, but that is something I don’t know for sure and I’d have to take a look at the policy for charging club accounts. As a side note you can charge 12 oz. sodas from the C-Store for about $0.34 a can (2 liters run for 1.99) and I might even be able to work out a better deal for clubs as well as maybe a way to mix and match. Also, Scooter’s will also be offering $6.00 pizzas in the evenings along with delivery to a couple of locations on campus. Theoretically everyone enrolled in the university is pretty bright so I think when you look at this try not to think of how hard it is now that clubs can’t do a certain thing they did before, look at is as a challenge. Please try and ask yourself how I can succeed given these measures and, supposed, disadvantages. This is certainly a situation all of us face on a daily basis and one that graduates will face if they are employed by large institutions, or even people who don’t have the same priorities as you, in the future.

  36. Disregarding how much the new menu options cost, I find it funny that the board is once again taking money from students. Have they never thought to trim the fat from the “freshly cut flowers” budget that ranges from 1000-2000 dollars depending on which department it goes to? Say, Admissions? What will be the next hit to students before the flowers are allowed to wilt and die?

    Food for thought.

  37. They have also failed to mention that Rocky Grounds Coffee Cart has been covertly removed from BEC and replaced with Dunn Bros.  Yet another move to try put more cash in the University’s coffers.  There’s no other reason that Rocky Grounds would be kicked out after 13 years. 

  38. I would personally pay money out of pocket to get a meal from (insert restaurant name here) than pay more money to St. Thomas to get sub-par quality food.  As a member of the music department I already pay enough money to UST, and I don’t see a whole lot of that money being invested back into me as a student.  

    Also, to anyone that says that food isn’t the primary attractor to group attendance, I think that you haven’t ever been a true college student.  (True college student: poor, hungry, and adaptable to circumstances that will get them a quality free meal, like group events).  Sure the members of the group will go to the meetings regardless of the food that is offered at meetings, but what about attracting new members?  When I see some sidewalk chalk advertising a meeting of some sort, I will turn the other cheek unless I see something to the effect of “free chipotle.”  And for the record, “ethnic” food at St. Thomas is about as good as the food I get on an airplane, and it sounds like the quantity is going to be comparable to that as well given the extra food costs.  

  39. From what I know, there will likely be a menu specifically for clubs and organizations.  What does this mean?  Options that will likely appeal to students who want to attend meetings and more affordable items.  Dining services has consulted other universities that have a similar policy to design something that does not punish student groups.

  40. Or you could, you know, just move your clubs down to south campus.  At least then you’d be getting decent quality food from the Binz.

  41. I’m honestly getting sick at the idea of eating on-campus food more than I have to. It was always something to look forward to during the day when we got free off-campus food. There’s such a distinct taste to the food at UST! The reasons listed for why this is happening haven’t even come close to selling me this idea. UGH!

  42. I understand that the university wants to save money and thinks they are making things easier, but while they constantly preach this why does tuition continuously rise regardless of any economic environment?  If the tuition is never reduced then why should any student resign themselves to less from the university?

  43. I’m the president of IEEE.  I honestly doubt that this will be feasible for us, as it looks like a single meal can easily cost us 200$ (last semester, attendance breached 60 people regularly).  Most of the members of IEEE are very busy, with classes before and after the meetings, meaning we *need* to have food available for them, or they can’t afford to come to our meeting.  Even if the food quality drastically increases (as it seems is being promised), we’re still looking at spending roughly twice as much to feed the club.

    We’ll give it an honest shot, but I have significant concerns.

  44. As a former student of St. Thomas, of which I left after one year, I’d like to give current students a bit of advice. DO IT ANYWAY!

  45. I understand and appreciate that St. Thomas is looking out for their students by implementing this rule in hopes that it will differ students from shelling out there own money in order to pay for outside food. However, when many clubs order food through other restaurants and organizations they work with them to get the best deals possible and to make it satisfying for both parties. If you want to find a “teachable moment” try creating a strong business relationship with outside catering company so that students can understand that not everyone in the world is going to hold your hand until you get your pizzas in the car. There is an extent to which St Thomas needs to stop sheltering their students and let them learn from their mistakes, you will hear it from just about anyone you talk to “you can’t learn from your mistakes if you never know your making them”.
    My other concern is about the variety of food that St Thomas can offer, is it really possible for them to whip a big platter of authentic Eritrean cuisine at a reasonable price? Some of the perks of getting a variety of food allows non local students the opportunity to experience some of the unique cuisine that is offered around St. Paul area which may entice people to the restaurant later on. 

  46. Josh, I hope you understand the irony of calling these responders “anonymous posters” when we give our names and email addresses in order to comment.  My contentions towards your statements:

    1)  You’re also asking us to accept a policy in good faith when it is being imposed BEFORE the prices come down and BEFORE quality is improved.  Since this policy is at our expense via the activities fees students are charged I would argue the order is completely backwards.
    2) If Scooter’s is offering a $6 pizza in the evenings it probably won’t do UST clubs and orgs any good since 9/10 of the “anonymous posters” here are probably concerned with convo hour.  I guess we could get it the night before and reheat.  Delicious.
    3)  It is regrettable that I must look at my university’s policies as a “challenge” which provides us many “disadvantages” which we must overcome.  I hoped that at the cost of tuition my university would be a place that worked, if not for me then, with me.

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