I was disturbed by Melanie McIntyre’s Nov. 12 article, “USG proposes upscale, late night dining.” Using a meal plan for late night dining is only available at Mirror Lake, which is a problem for students living on north and West Campus. This dining problem should be solved by Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government and the Office of Student Affairs. But Frank Sasso’s plan does not sound realistic.
I understand this facility was a campaign promise – I read the Goodman/Sasso platform while trying to become a senator.
Since the USG budget has increased by 250 percent -thanks to the student activity fee – the mini-bureaucracy has more money and power to spend unwisely. So far, we are over-funding registered groups, purchasing bus stop heaters and sponsoring expensive and poorly attended concerts. This proposed “upscale” north campus dining facility would only be the next poorly executed plan.
Those who have never eaten in the north or south campus commons may not be aware that the food is worse than some fast food, but is more costly.
USG is currently discussing a plan to allow for meal plans to be used off campus, but the organization is not going far enough. Instead, we should privatize campus dining facilities, which would allow for cheaper and better quality food to be served. OSU has a monopoly on campus dining, and only privatization will motivate those dining facilities to compete with off-campus dining facilities. Dining facilities should be offered to the lowest bidder, while allowing OSU to monitor quality and business practices.
Unlike Sasso’s proposed facility, which requires an initial investment, privatization would allow for immediate profit from the leasing of space.
This way, students can stop funding erroneous projects and start directing their money toward higher education.
Matt NaugleSophomore in political science and business
