The Collegian Weekly: The opinion of The Collegian editorial staff
Yes to our own food, no to saga extortion
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: Opinion
In July, Saga, Inc. will look to renew its contract with Hillsdale College.
We are concerned about the current bans on hiring outside catering and bringing in outside food for events up the hill.
Right now, Saga has exclusive rights to all events up the hill. That means that technically, students who bring pizza, hamburgers or snacks from any other food service break the rule.
The college doesn't enforce small-scale violations like those - and we're glad. But for students hosting larger events, the Saga-only rule is enforced, and it can pose a hassle for groups seeking other menu options.
For example, Panhellenic Council is conducting a post-Greek Week picnic Saturday on the front lawn of the Chi Omega sorority house. To picnic on the quad, the council would have had to hire Saga for the lunch - but moving to the Chi Omega property, which is among the properties exempt from the restriction, saves the council more money.
We'll admit, Saga has made strides in improving the quality and variety of its food this year. But because of the current contract, Saga's catered food abounds around campus. It's understandable that groups seek to spice meetings up with something other than the ubiquitous chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies and lemonade.
Saga does offer an unofficial 20 percent discount to student groups, and Saga officials say their prices and quality are competitive - but if that's true, then they shouldn't be too concerned about allowing a little competition.
Allowing area restaurants to vie for clubs' patronage isn't solely a boon for the students. It benefits our local community, too. Groups purchasing cookies from Walmart, sandwiches from Oakley! or pizza from Hungry Howie's for on-campus events could further improve college-community relations by supporting those local venues.
Competition, too, can only drive Saga to continue to improve food quality and options. Since Saga earns most of its money from what students don't eat, the corporation has an incentive to offer unappetizing food to buffer earnings. In such a system, opening the market can only help address this imbalance.
With all these perks, it looks like it's time to end the Saga monopoly.
Administrators should update the current contract to allow students and student organizations to bring in or purchase food from outside sources.
We are concerned about the current bans on hiring outside catering and bringing in outside food for events up the hill.
Right now, Saga has exclusive rights to all events up the hill. That means that technically, students who bring pizza, hamburgers or snacks from any other food service break the rule.
The college doesn't enforce small-scale violations like those - and we're glad. But for students hosting larger events, the Saga-only rule is enforced, and it can pose a hassle for groups seeking other menu options.
For example, Panhellenic Council is conducting a post-Greek Week picnic Saturday on the front lawn of the Chi Omega sorority house. To picnic on the quad, the council would have had to hire Saga for the lunch - but moving to the Chi Omega property, which is among the properties exempt from the restriction, saves the council more money.
We'll admit, Saga has made strides in improving the quality and variety of its food this year. But because of the current contract, Saga's catered food abounds around campus. It's understandable that groups seek to spice meetings up with something other than the ubiquitous chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies and lemonade.
Saga does offer an unofficial 20 percent discount to student groups, and Saga officials say their prices and quality are competitive - but if that's true, then they shouldn't be too concerned about allowing a little competition.
Allowing area restaurants to vie for clubs' patronage isn't solely a boon for the students. It benefits our local community, too. Groups purchasing cookies from Walmart, sandwiches from Oakley! or pizza from Hungry Howie's for on-campus events could further improve college-community relations by supporting those local venues.
Competition, too, can only drive Saga to continue to improve food quality and options. Since Saga earns most of its money from what students don't eat, the corporation has an incentive to offer unappetizing food to buffer earnings. In such a system, opening the market can only help address this imbalance.
With all these perks, it looks like it's time to end the Saga monopoly.
Administrators should update the current contract to allow students and student organizations to bring in or purchase food from outside sources.
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