November 13, 2008

Congratulations to Drawing Winners

Blugold Dining would like to thank everyone who participated in our recent promotions at SubConnection, Intermezzos Café and Library Grounds over the last two weeks and congratulate the following drawing winners:- $100 Nike gift card from SubConnection: Cole Schieiner- $50 Blugold Dining Gift Card from Library Grounds: Janet Patterson- Green Mountain Travel Mug and $10 Blugold Dining gift card from Intermezzos Cafe: Stacie Druga, Kendra Zreck, Katie Iverson, Sadie Schmidt, Erin Haas, Amanda Wilkens, Ashley Zellhoffer & Troy Thompson.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

KEEP TRAYS IN THE CAF

The campus policy towards environmentalism is one that treats the symptoms rather than the disease. The earth is warming because rainforests are being cleared for small farms in places such as Brazil. Farmers are forced to clear more land because they are given unfair prices. Sodexo pays those unfair prices. Not having trays in the caf is simply inconvenient, it does nothing for the environment.

The paper bags at taco bell are wasteful and inconvenient. The lines are twice as long and it creates more waste than fast food wrappers.

Why not focus on getting the university to stop watering the lawn?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your comments. I would be glad to speak with you regarding your assertion that Sodexo pays unfair prices. The assertion by both my research and information I have received inidcate otherwise. I disagree, saving water, not using additional chemicals and cutting down waste all have to do with the environment.
The reason we instituted bags at Taco Bell is theft - I did not want to do that; however, we were having a huge problem this semester with theft from Taco Bell. We have made it more difficult to steal food.
Everything we, as a whole university has the potential to make an impact on our environment.
Convenience, across the board, is something one pays for; however, we need to start thinking about how we make our environment pay for our convenience.
Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I thank you Mr. Wise for being very competent. This is in no way an attack on your management of blugold dining (they do a very good job and the employees are kind and helpfu, especially the cashiers at the hilltop), but rather Sodexo whom our university is unfortunately tied to and whom drags the potential of our dining service down.

Unfair crop prices to third world countries are systemic to the corporate (and sometimes unsanitary, leading to incidences such as e-coli outbreaks) food distribution system of the United States. Our university is powerless.

I personally believe that reducing poverty and providing opportunities to go up in life will do more for the environment than not providing trays in the caf or an environmental sustainability account.

People given low wages and inadequate health care is both a moral and environmental issue. People who are paid below the poverty level are unable to make food purchases based on the environment, but rather economic necessity. For example, if you don't have gas money to go to a grocery store for unpackaged fruit you're going to buy packaged food at a nearby gas station. I believe our university is only looking at the short term consequences of it's actions, not the long term consequences of employees with low wages having to purchase non eco-friendly foods.

I am not sure what type of health care or pay the employees on our campus are given, I do know that Sodexo aims to lower health care and pay at other campuses across the country. I have a moral problem giving 1,200 a semester to a corporation that pays employees below the poverty line with low wages.

I hope our university uses its weight to put pressure on Sodexo to give its employees the benefits and pay they deserve which will also trickle down to help the environment in the long run.

Poverty is not environmental. Sodexo pays workers below the poverty line. Therefore Sodexo is not environmental or generous despite all of their self back patting campaigns to raise food for the needy.

The students, employees, and faculty at Binghamton University in New York are in the process of taking Sodexo on for these very reasons, living wages and health care. I hope our university can follow their example or even back them up against the corporate giant Sodexo.

So I call on Blugold dining to pressure Sodexo to give its employees health care and living wages no matter what campus they are on. The environment is global, and so are workers rights.

Anonymous said...

To the Anonymous person posting at 9:36 p.m.

Your politics and mine are very similar. I am not really addressing anything that you are saying regarding the issues you present except for how you believe they may apply to Sodexo.

If you would like to come out of your Anonymous status, I would be glad to talk with you more about poverty, environment and a wholistic approach that might be a better way of looking at things.

Protecting and keeping one's house in order is a state of mind that transcends a variety of things including mere convenience. Reducing poverty and trying to make our environment better are both ways to keep our house in order.

I also would be glad to share with you information you don't have such as our employees being paid well, having significant personal and vacation time, very significant health care and retirement. They are all well above the national poverty line.

Regarding your statement that poverty is not enivornmental, I would assert that statement is incorrect. Environment can play a critical role in the creation or cure of poverty. If you would like to learn more, I would be glad to discuss in person.

Again, my post is not designed to be confrontational, I really am inviting you to engage in constructive discourse that might help as opposed to hurt. True statements out of context can be false.

Your last sentence, equating workers' rights and environmental care as both being on a global level is something I do agree with wholeheartedly.

There are a number of things that Blugold Dining (Sodexo) is working on to be even more responsible.

Going trayless, having better disposables, composting, a Campus Kitchens project, our Food Collection, participating extensively with Feed My People, bringing more local food to campus and our benefits we extend our employees are all examples of Sodexo's desire to be a good world citizen.

Again, please do not take my statements as a pure rebuff. I would be glad to talk with you further - I do not disagree with most of your theory, I am only concerned with how you have applied it. I hope you take me up on my invitation - My invitation is open to anyone that would like to discuss politics or the mechanics of our food service or any other aspect of political or economic theory,after food, political and social theory is my favorite topic.