Freedom from RPS

I am so close to getting a break from dorm food for an entire season.

I can’t begin to describe how excited I am. No more relying on “Gresh-Nasty” or “Wrong Food Court.” No more C-store runs for my microwave and mini-fridge.

I would like to say that I will miss some of the foods provided by Residential Programs and Services, but it would not be all that truthful.

Or maybe it’s because I will have so much more access to kitchens this next year.
With the majority of my friends moving off campus that have asked me to cook or teach them how to cook, I doubt I will be having many meals on campus.

Why?

Well, why do so many people move off campus when there is such convenience in living so close to food courts or dining halls?

To be quite frank, the food sucks.

And not just in terms of quality. The prices are ridiculous, and sometimes it’s not even all that convenient. RPS wonders why they lose so many residents or have so many freshmen that want to stay away. It’s pretty obvious, for most students at least.

I don’t want to sound like a spoiled brat by complaining about the food, but the truth is we deserve better food for the money we’re paying.

We deserve better quality ingredients, better quality meals and better environments.
I’m not saying that we need to shift all of our focus to improving our kitchens.

Besides, once in a while I’m surprised by how good some of the food items can be.
But you can only last so long before wanting so desperately to have that perfect falafel or filet mignon off-campus.

Not to mention eating on-campus food is pretty terrible for your health.

Granted, RPS has started to implement healthy eating stations and posters all across campus, but my guess is the majority of the students are not going to eat the healthy food provided because it doesn’t taste that good.

Most college students eat junk food, fried food and processed food.

It’s what we like. It’s what we live off of when the only places open at 2 a.m. are pizza joints and Taco Bell.

If you want to have a better menu, better food and better health, move off campus. RPS cannot provide sufficient enough food for students.

They can try and put effort in, but we all know they don’t really have the passion to care enough about sustainable foods or foods of higher quality.

There are issues, however, with buying groceries from Kroger and Bloomingfoods. No place will be perfect or able to serve everyone, but it’s a hell of a lot simpler to research brands than get some simple questions answered by RPS.

If you’re living off-campus next fall, consider yourself lucky and remember your poor friends stuck following RPS policies. Invite them over to your place for a dinner — or 10.

Until then, savor your summer cookouts and picnics and sweet RPS freedom.