By Staff

An omelet in the morning, then pasta at night usually start of your week of dining on campus. Tuesdays are always quesadillas, but sometimes on Wednesdays you treat yourself to a salmon roll. Then, the rest of the week you alternate between burgers, salads or something fried and the cycle starts again with that same broccoli and cheddar egg creation come Monday morning. It’s another year on campus, another year of lackluster Lackmann dining. The food is always decent, but it’s already October and your taste buds are tired of the usual campus culinary offerings and yet your wallet looks as if you’ve been treating yourself to three course meals at the Grand Luxe. Well, if you’re tired of spending over $10 for the same plate of pasta each week and bottle of water, which is double the normal price at most convenient stores, here’s your chance to speak up. As Lackmann’s five-year exclusive contract with the University nears its expiration date, prospective food service providers are being presented with the chance to compete for students’ taste buds as well. The bidding process also poses a unique opportunity for students to evaluate Lackmann and ask themselves whether they are satisfied or crave more from their campus dining services. However, voicing their complaints or compliments regarding Lackmann and their future dining preferences will come down to three student representatives. Three undergraduates, all members of the Student Government Association, including our very own SGA President Peter DiSilvio, will be responsible for satisfying the bellies of over 13,000 students. Right now, it is still too early in the process to know how these students will collect information that adequately represents the opinions of the student body, as two of the three panelists were only informed this week. However, there are several questions they should be asking, starting with, are students happy with what they have? It’s almost a requirement of Hofstra students to complain, but sometimes it’s necessary to look at what you have, rather than what you don’t. According to the most recent rankings by College Prowler, which publishes a series of college guidebooks based on the opinions of current students, Hofstra scored a B- for its campus food. Many students would be just satisfied if they received a B- in some of their classes at the University, however, when it comes to eating are mediocre meals enough? Out of curiosity, let’s look at what the honor students of food service providers have to offer. Among the three universities that scored an A+ was Scripps College, in Claremont, Calif., which allows students to view daily menus online, since there are always new dishes offered. These meals include exotic entrees such as Chicken with Lemon Grass and Coconut Rice and Mexican Beef Pizza, to classic favorites like Manicotti with Marinara, in addition to burgers and fries. The cafeteria also offers alternatives for vegans and health nuts, such as curried tofu dinners and whole wheat pancakes at breakfast time. Another issue to consider is how students want to finance their hearty appetites. At both Scripps and Boston University, another school that scored high in the dining category, students purchase a combination of meals and points. Unlike Hofstra’s set-up students at these colleges select plans based on the number of meals they eat during a typical week. For $3,720 a student can swipe through the dining hall, and eat to their heart’s content 14 times each week. Plus, they receive $200 worth of points each semester to be spent at any of the dining services. That means, the average meal would cost about $15. This is actually slightly more than what most students at the University say they spend, but the buffet style set-up allows bigger eaters to get more for their buck. There are many other factors to consider in addition to cost and quality, such as convenience – how early and/ or late are the eateries open? Compared to Scripps and BU, Hofstra students have a much better chance of scoring a late-night bite. New extended hours in the Netherlands also show that Lackmann is working hard to accommodate students’ needs. However, since we are dealing with food, the big question will come down to taste. With over 13,000 students with different dietary restrictions and preferences, it would be impossible to agree on one or even two types of cuisines. Therefore, diversity is what these student representatives should look for. It’s a difficult task that these student ambassadors have been given. Over the course of this selection process, you’ll be eating for 13,000. Just try not to do it all in one sitting.

by Andreas Soto