Call
for Return of Sodexho Marriott Dining Service
To
the Editors:
Last
week, in a brilliant aside, Senior Mike Connor wrote: “At
any rate, if you don’t figure out a way to get out of the
red, then maybe it’s time we brought back good ol’ Marriott.
They knew how to deal with thieves: Throw them in a private prison
and rent them out as slave labor.”
Never
have truer words been spoken! For those too young (or high) to remember
the great hullabaloo of a couple years ago, I will quickly recount
the tale. You see Oberlin’s dining service used to be run
by a little mom and pop business affectionately known as Sodexho
Marriott Services. However, a few “doo gooder” Obies
were all up in arms with poor ol’ SMS because they ran private
prisons. I never much understood their problem with private prisons,
I mean we all have chosen to go to a private school, ergo we must
think private institutions are better than their public counterparts.
If public institutions aren’t good enough for Obies, why should
we force prisoners to endure them?
Anyway,
the geniuses over at SMS figured out that you could pay prisoners
a weekly wage consisting of nothing more than a carton of cigarettes
and a coupon for an extra hour in the conjugal visits trailer behind
the prison. However, due to our breakup with SMS, the days when
the Decafé could get ultra-cheap donuts from the Lorain County
Prison Pastry Shoppe are long gone, hence the ridiculously high
prices of our meal plan this year.
I
must admit, a couple of years ago I was all for the “not with
our money,” anti-slave labor campaign to kick out Sedexho.
But that was before I realized that it would directly lead to a
cut in my flex dollars allotment! As much as I would like to blame
this on Dean Goldsmith (along with my library fines, the War on
Terrorism and my inability to get dates), I fear we have only ourselves
to blame. As a result, I think it is time that we invite Sodexho
Marriott back! I will be leading a petition drive under the banner
of “Not with Our Flex Dollars.” I must warn you it might
not be pretty, the drive for social justice rarely is. If our demands
aren’t quickly and swiftly met we might have to occupy Cox
or even erect giant protest puppets. Despite the dangers, I hope
I can count on your support in this campaign. I am confidant that
together we can change the world!
–
Noah Heller
College senior
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