There are plenty of aspects that make Fordham great.  It is an academically prestigious institution with a beautiful campus, a great Jesuit influence and (a personal favorite) a recently resurgent men's basketball program.  But there is one thing I really hate: the cafeteria food.  I'm not alone in this sentiment. I know that because I have conducted the last two "Who's That Kid?" interviews, and the perennial question regarding what they would change about Fordham has ubiquitously and immediately been something along the lines of: "I'd change the food service."

At the beginning of my freshman year, I was naïve about the status of Fordham's dining services.  For the first week, we ate it happily.  So many choices from the pizza bar and the International station kept us on our toes (the gyros may actually be the only certifiably delicious item served).

Coming from Scranton, a small town with a strong Italian influence, I did immediately notice the poor quality of the pizza, the first red flag.  Pizza is very hard to mess up, and I'm actually not picky; I will happily devour Domino's, but the dry cardboard smothered in red sauce, sprinkled with dry cheese and is-this-chicken chicken is inedible. 

Fordham's food is provided by Sodexo, a worldwide food service corporation. Sodexo provides food services to hospitals, banks and fellow universities across the country.  The company's reputation has been plagued with boycotts by both students and employees, (most usually wage-related). Last year, Fordham failed its annual food inspection, to outcries from students and parents alike. As a prospective student, I was actually happy to hear this news, figuring that the school would ditch its current provider and search for a better one.  As we all know, this was not the case, and the Class of 2015's stomachs have also been subjected to the pain of the process.

I recently questioned a senior friend about the status of Fordham's contract with Sodexo.  According to him, Fordham is in a long-term contract with the company.  I attempted to do some research on the subject, but all I could come across was an article published in The Ram last year. 

Following the health violations last April, Sodexo held a town hall meeting in which a student posed the same question to General Manager Brian Poteat.  The answer my friend received was just as informative as Poteat's, who answered that all he knew was that it was a long-running contract, suggesting that students should contact the administration.  It seems Poteat failed to understand that a town hall meeting is what students interpret as "contacting administration."

I have had a good experience eating at The Grille, but it eats up one's flex dollars and, for freshmen, means a walk all the way across campus.  Why should there only be one place on campus that serves passable food?  Why is it that the food at The Grille is inarguably of a higher quality than that served at the caf?  Why am I paying above-average tuition and still putting up with below-average food?

These questions are not being asked by a small group of picky eaters but rather by the vast majority of students on campus.  The blame rests not just with Sodexo but with this University as well.  It is the institution's duty to listen to the pleas of the student body. Disappointment festers as the administration puts money ahead of student happiness, failing to act upon the needs of its students.