I am a man who loves his Lucky Charms. But I am also a man who likes milk with his cereal. Since cereal is a dry food, created with the assumption that it will be eaten with milk, the absence of the latter is irritating. Unfortunately, however, I have spent many cold, hungry nights in Taylor with an abundance of cereal, and no milk. This said, I come to the topic of my discussion. I have always wondered what would happen if I took my empty milk carton and filled it up at Commons. Not only would it be free, but it would save me a trip to CVS. Perhaps while I was at it I could grab a bunch of bananas, or maybe some of those delicious rolls. But, is hoarding food from Commons in this manner against the school rules? After talking to a number of students, I discovered that my query was not unprecedented. Indeed, many students have asked this same question. I also discovered that some students have developed this habit. But, I wanted to investigate before acting to ensure I wouldn’t break any rules. So I consulted a number of people around campus. Many of my fellow students said it was considered stealing, while a cluster dean I asked noted that it was not mentioned in the Blue Book. I, too, found nothing in the Blue Book pertaining to the situation. Did this imply that Commons is a free-for-all? Since the Blue Book, the ultimate reference on school policy, lacks any mention of this, perhaps one could infer that it is allowable. I got excited too. But thinking about it rationally made me second guess this assumption. If everyone decided to take a bunch of bananas, or a gallon of milk from Common’s every day for their “fourth meal,” there wouldn’t be much left for the first three. Finally, I consulted the Commons Staff, and they explained to me the current situation. It is expected that students and faculty will act with their good discretion when taking food from Commons. While there is no written policy, the Commons’ Staff hope that everyone will act on an “honor code,” noting that the more food we consume or waste, the less flexibility they will have. No one is going to stop you from taking gross, and perhaps unnecessary, amounts of food from Commons. However, the more kids get into this habit, the more food must be purchased. With a set budget, if quantity goes up, then quality degrades. In other words, say goodbye to all those special meals in the lobby. More importantly, say goodbye to Lucky Charms, the most expensive cereal Commons purchases. On the other hand, if students are going to eat the food anyway, why not have the convenience of taking it back to their dorms? After all, we could eat it at Commons, what difference does it make if I eat it there or somewhere else? In some cases, this may be true. However, quite often students who remove food from Commons take food that they would not normally eat. Or, perhaps more worrisome, they take food that gets wasted. For instance, milk that is available at Commons on Sunday is meant to be drunk on Sunday, not on Monday or Tuesday. Therefore, the milk at Commons is likely to spoil faster than store-bought milk. That’s not to say Commons’ milk is any less fresh than regular milk, it just isn’t meant to be re-stored. So, if Johnny takes a week’s worth of milk on Sunday, it is likely that his milk will have spoiled by Wednesday, and four days of milk will go down the drain. It means that the school won’t be able to afford to buy the good stuff, like Lucky Charms, because it’s busy paying for the milk and other products that students waste. As aforementioned, I love the Lucky Charms at Commons, and thus, behavior that threatens the school supply worries me. So take what you’re going to eat and no more. It may seem like a good idea to take 12 bananas, but having special meals and food products at Commons is far more enjoyable. Save the Charms, eat and leave food in Commons.
