The Justice

This fall, returning students may notice the drastic changes undergone by the daytime center for campus social interactions, the Usdan Student Center. Our old beloved C-store, food hub for insomniacs and library nerds everywhere, has been moved into the game room, while its old nest lies shrouded in scaffolding and sheet plastic as it is transformed into a Quiznos.

Of these two changes, the death and subsequent resurrection of the C-store is overwhelmingly positive. The expanded aisles shimmer with a wide array of new products, the beverage section overfloweth with selection and the overpriced, foul sushi has been replaced with ready-to-eat vegan Thai food. There's even a coffee selection fit for a large and heavily trafficked rest stop. Finally, the store resembles a professional place of business that offers more diverse options to students, not just a campus novelty. Also, the game room, formerly ignored by the majority of students, should benefit from its proximity to the new C-Mecca with a rise in visitors.

However, the decision to add a Quiznos to the campus culinary pantheon is less deserving of celebratory praise. Not only does it seem like a step back in terms of offering healthier food options to students, but it does not seem in step with other recent campus food reforms such as the use of locally-grown produce and the new initiative to rid the campus of environmentally-harmful plastic bottles. On top of all this, toasted sandwiches are already a popular and available item in the Boulevard. Were we really in desperate need of more sandwiches?

Now Brandeis is a private institution and has the right to do business with whatever franchise it wants, but it belittles the positive progress Dining Services has made if they turn around and bring in a corporate food franchise without even consulting the students. If the school wants to remain consistent in its reforms, it should bring in a local, possibly even organic, franchise to supplement the student body's diet.

As it stands, the inclusion of a Quiznos makes the school's other progressive food reforms seem like acts of glad-handing meant to placate those of us concerned about the school's choice of business partners. Frankly, it raises suspicions about the administration's commitment to its other promises.

Now, it's impractical and unnecessary for the school to consult the student body on every expenditure and expansion, but changes made to our dining facilities, something we presumably make use of on a daily basis, merit some community input, either in the form of a general poll or the formation of a student/administration collaborative committee. Surely the school is only doing what it views is a feasible enterprise, but it's hard to believe that Quiznos was the only franchise it could come up with.

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