Students groups hold Israel Fest
Over 20 student groups and organizations will come together today for Israel Fest, an event that coordinator Michelle Dorin calls “a celebration [of] the multicultural diversity” of Israel.
Taco Bell departs from Mallinckrodt
Students can grab their last gorditas today as Taco Bell departs from Mallinckrodt’s Food Court to be replaced by Bon App‚tit Asian cuisine next semester. Its departure comes after failed negotiations to renew the franchise’s five-year contract and a Washington University Food Committee survey indicating students wanted a change.
“A legitimate amount of students wanted Bon App‚tit to investigate other options,” said junior Jeff Zove, speaker of the Student Union Senate and former Food Committee chair. “The winner was Asian food.”
The online survey done last year showed that 45 percent of University students wanted to replace Taco Bell, while 33 percent wanted it to stay. Fifty-two percent of those who wanted a change marked a preference for Asian food. Aside from the survey, Taco Bell would only have stayed if it got a five-year contract extension, which the University could not guarantee. It also wanted to change the menu, which would have required renovations.
“It’s just not practical,” said Paul Schimmele of Dining Services.
The Food Committee wanted to renew Taco Bell’s contract for one year while Bon App‚tit searched for an Asian franchise, but the company refused.
“There was no way we could have kept them,” sophomore and current Food Committee chair Timothy Ingalls said.
The Student Worker Alliance also pushed for a change after learning of Taco Bell’s human rights issues regarding its tomato workers in southern Florida. It did not want such a franchise to remain on campus.
Bon App‚tit is still looking for a franchise to fill Taco Bell’s space, but the food court’s impending move to the University Center a few years down the road means it cannot offer a five-year contract. Most franchises also need more space than what Mallinckrodt has and demand a certain customer volume, which the University cannot guarantee.
“There would have to be tremendous support during the school year, and there are problems in the summer as well, since students aren’t here,” said Schimmele.
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