Opinion
 

Good weekend eating hard to find

By Jim McCormick

This semester, I made the decision not to go home for any reason, save emergencies or a lack of money on my Cougar 1Card for laundry. There were several factors that led to this decision, not the least of which is the fact that I'm finding it harder to get along with my family for extended periods of time.

As I've resolved not to go home until it's absolutely necessary this semester, it has struck me how little is available on campus on the weekend when it comes time to eat. In previous semesters, this mattered little to me, as I either had plenty of cash or funds in my checking account. But this semester is different, as my father recently received notice that he won't have a job after April. Therefore, I need to eat on campus more, and have fewer meals ordered in from Papa John's or trips to McDonald's.

The difficulty came when it was time to eat Saturday. It was fairly early in the evening, about 6 p.m., and my blood sugar was crashing. I made a trip over to the University Center, in hopes of grabbing a bite to eat at Wendy's. I've rarely had problems with the hours there in the past, even on Saturday. Imagine my surprise to find that nothing was open in the UC after 6 p.m.

This wouldn't have been an issue, as the Horizons Cafeteria usually has a good selection when it comes to dining. I figured I could have Chinese food at the Kim Son there and be fine. But alas, the only things open were The Grill and the Pizza Hut. I settled for a meal at The Grill, seeing as though I didn't have much of a choice in the matter, and I'd already had two pizzas that week.

This story illustrates the one major problem I have had with the dining services here. It's incredibly hard to find food on the weekends, as the people who run the food service here at the University don't generally care about the people who chose to spend their weekends on campus. 

This could be one of the primary causes for the flight home that some of my fellow residents make on the weekends. In fact, I was laughed at when I suggested that my floor council meet on Saturdays. There's just nothing to eat here once Friday classes are over. It's not entirely about a lack of things to do on the weekend, as generally there's enough for me to do to remain busy.

Also, the aforementioned Wendy's is no longer open Sundays. It used to be my Sunday staple, as there wasn't much else open. But now, the only place to get food on Sunday is the Megabyte Cafe in Oberholtzer Hall. While it may be the home of the best chicken in Third Ward, I usually like some variety in my diet.

Now, before anyone starts making angry references on how Chartwells is ripping us off again, I'd like to say that the UC Millennium Cafe is not controlled by Chartwells at all. While Chic-fil-A can't be open on Sundays (it's a Chic-fil-A policy), it most certainly can be open on Saturdays. So while Chartwells is indeed to blame for the non-existent weekend hours at the UC Satellite, it is only to blame for part of this problem.

So, please, I'm begging both the people at Chartwells and the individual franchise owners at the University Center to remain open on the weekends. There are students who stay on campus during the weekend, contrary to popular belief, and we like to eat every day.

McCormick, an editorial writer for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at rantman_2000@sbctglobal.net.