Like many college students, NEIU students are faced with many stressful situations throughout their academic careers. Midterms, finals or even thoughts about how they’re going to pay for their college education are stressors that students have to deal with on a daily basis. Since students have their hands full with course work, and other issues, they should at least have the option of not having to leave the school grounds in order to obtain meals during the times in which classes are being offered. Students taking morning or evening classes may have faced this very problem because, despite the fact that some classes begin at 8 a.m. and the last classes that are taught go on well beyond 6 p.m., the cafeteria opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. Shouldn’t the cafeteria’s hours of operation reflect the hours at which classes are offered?
Sure, Beck’s Bookstore offers snacks and Cafe Descartes offers coffee, bagels, pastries and other snacks, but what happens if a student wants more than a snack on school grounds if they are taking a morning class that begins before 10 a.m., or an evening class that begins after 6 p.m.?
Even though some NEIU students have vehicles and may often venture outside of school grounds to neighboring stores and restaurants in order to obtain snacks and meals, what about the students that ride public transportation? What about the times when the weather is really inclimate? No one wants to go in search of food in awful weather during times like those, whether they have a vehicle or not.
According to the director of the Student Union, Felicia Keelen, the contract with NEIU’s current cafeteria vendor, Sodexo, is up and a new contract will begin on July 1, 2010. Hopefully, the changes in the cafeteria’s hours of operation will also be implemented.