Aaron Nicolaisen | Staff Writer
Many Buena Vista University students agree that the to-go cups in the campus servery are great for ice cream or soup or a quick afternoon snack, but recent changes to “the serve,” which include the elimination of the to-go cups, are causing widespread concern among students.
This year, instead of to-go cups, Sodexo is providing students with a reusable BVU cup as a gift to replace the styrofoam to-go cups. These new cups have been distributed to students with meal plans. This decision has caused some frustration among students and has moved others to take action.
At the start of September, BVU senior Zach Schmidt took action by creating a petition for the return of the Styrofoam cups or a suitable alternative.
“The number one reason I started this petition was to create a discussion. I want the student body to know why they were removed, and what their solution idea was. It’s much bigger than the cups in my opinion,” Schmidt said.
General Manager of Sodexo, Ken Allen is working side-by-side with the Student Senate Food Crew and BVU in general on a program to reduce community waste of paper and plastics.
Allen said the reusable cups are intended to be part of that waste-reduction effort by providing students with an environmentally safer alternative for hot and cold drinks. In addition to the new cups, plans to help with the loss of plates, cups, and utensils from the serve will be put into motion at a later date. Current food plans such as the “marquee” plan provide unlimited meals for students that can be used before or after class during serve hours.
Allen also noted that the future may bring some more changes, and students are encouraged to ask questions and work with Sodexo to provide a suitable arrangement. Maintaining good arrangements will provide a better structured system with less waste and higher efficiency, he said.
Abandoning the disposable cups and implementing reusable cups has students talking about ways this will affect their schedules. Time is important and some students believe the new cups will hinder time between classes and hectic schedules. Some students are embracing this new alternative, but prefer the old, to-go cup method because of convenience and other benefits.
“With only 10 minutes between classes it is hard to sit down, have a meal, and make it back to class on time. Those cups have saved many of us from being late to class multiple times a week,” junior Alexis Beenken said.
Schmidt’s petition currently has 95 supporters expressing their personal opinions on the situation.
Further information about students’ opinions or petition standings can be found here.
