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Opinion
 

Letters to the Editor

Campus Starbucks not so stellar

To the editor:

I have been a loyal customer of Starbucks for years, and I have experienced firsthand this company's great customer services and efficiency. It is this high quality of performance that makes me go every day and buy their products, even though I have to pay more than everywhere else. For this reason I cannot understand why, when I go to the Starbucks on campus, I have to expect less quality than earlier mentioned.

Every time I go to Starbucks on campus, not only do I have to wait for a long time to get my coffee, but when it is finally my turn to order, I get really poor customer service. Even the products taste different and the stand is always out of something on a regular basis.

Here are just a few examples of common answers that I get in our campus Starbucks store:
 

• "Sorry, we cannot sell you a regular coffee today because the coffee machine has been broken for more than a week." (What kind of coffee shop has not had regular coffee for more than a week?) 

• "Sorry, we can not take your Starbucks card here." (If I cannot use a prepaid card, one that is only valid to buy coffee at Starbucks, what can I do with it?)

• "Sorry, we don't do a refill discount for coffee like the other Starbucks locations, you have to pay a full price every time you get a cup of regular coffee."

And the zucchini loaf, which costs $1.50, is $2 after tax. What type of tax is that?

UH students deserve to have the same treatment as everywhere else.

I hope that the Starbucks on campus creates a level of customer service on par with the high quality of their products.

Victor Carvajal
junior, business

SGA failed to represent students

To the editor:

I am writing you today concerning the recent Student Government Association bill UB41022, which regards raising the ceiling of the Student Fee. I noticed that the bill could have been passed one of two ways -- by a general student referendum, or by the student government. So why was it passed as it was, by the SGA Senate?

I am confident that the bill would not have passed had it been put to a student vote. After asking 478 students for their opinion on the matter, only 17 told me that they wouldn't mind the fee increase. That's 3.6 percent.

Here is my problem: the elected members of the SGA are elected to accurately represent the needs and desires of the student body (as is the case in any elected representative body). However, how can a bill pass that is supported by so few of the students?

I encourage students to go to www.uh.edu/sga and read the bill for themselves, and I would also urge them to read the minutes from the meeting in which the bill was passed (Feb. 9), but those have not been posted.

I would ask that every student find out the names of the 11 senators who voted for this bill (they seem to be hiding their identity quite well). Ask the senators why they would hide if they felt that this vote was in the students' best interests. Send these senators a message at election time. Ask questions. Demand answers. Ask where this money is going.

I will continue my own research. I know that SGA President Jon Quintanilla proposed the bill. 

J.W. Sharp
senior, biochemistry 

Only problem in Taub basement is not getting along

To the editor:

They say ignorance takes many forms. On Friday, it took the form of Jim McCormick ("Annoyance invades Taub basement," Opinion). From the column, one gets the impression that McCormick sits on the sidelines and ogles the girls as they prance around. McCormick described how the girls wore pants that had been "padded badly with table napkins." For him to criticize people who he doesn't know and who he only "presumes" to be associated with a campus sorority is an abomination. 

The basement in the Taub Hall is a public space, unlike McCormick understands it to be. Guests have used the space for practices before, but no one has complained to his degree of sheer disgust. I am neither offended nor disgusted by the girls, who appear to be working toward a commendable cause. Unless the girls are dancing on the stove, or with the laundry machines, then the use of these appliances is not hindered. McCormick's roommate has taken to "fighting a war with these invaders," as some sort of peaceful demonstration of civil disobedience. We have just celebrated the works of Martin Luther King Jr. Do we still have that far to go if the use of a public space is hindered by those who refuse to work together?

Sade Johnson
junior, biology

Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the UH community and should focus on issues, not personalities. Letters must be typed and must include the author's name, telephone number and affiliation with the University. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, language and space. Letters may be delivered in person to Room 151, Communication; e-mailed to dclettrs@mail.uh.edu ; or faxed to (713) 743-5384.