On October 3, the administration opened an application for the Food Delivery Task Force, explaining the issue as “recent surge in deliveries, at all hours of the day and late into the night, has raised significant concerns about student safety and wellbeing, campus traffic, and community connection.” In retrospect, administration has a point; the rise of unregulated food deliveries around campus did lead to an excessive number of strangers on campus, potential traffic accidents, and a lack of interaction between students over meals. Despite these issues, a complete ban on food delivery is not an effective solution. Rather, the task force must consider the positive and necessary aspects of food delivery to establish a policy that simultaneously respects student needs and addresses the concerns.
Food delivery provides a convenient method for students to eat without scheduling complications. The limited time window of Paresky Commons (Paresky) does not accommodate the hectic lives of many students, especially athletes. Club meetings, sports practices, peer tutoring, and other extracurricular activities often pack students’ schedules. After attending a sports practice and two club meetings, students lack the time to grab a meal from Paresky. Even in cases where students do have time, Paresky might be closed, or they might be too exhausted to walk back and forth, especially if their dorms are far away. Food delivery enables students to fit meals into their schedules without worrying that they are compromising academic and extracurricular success. Especially for athletes who leave campus early for practices and return late into the evening, it is exhausting to spend another hour going to Paresky, having their meals, and walking back. Though some may argue that extending the hours of the Paresky resolves such time constraints, it remains unclear whether the school can financially afford such a change.
Even without considering such time constraints, food delivery encourages students to consistently have healthy meals. For many students exhausted after a day of work, the alternative to food delivery is not walking to Paresky but rather resorting to junk food in their cabinets or skipping the meal entirely. At times of high academic workload, the pressure of socializing overwhelms many students to the extent that they would rather stay in their dorms without taking care of their physical well-being by eating. Food delivery provides the only way for such students to enjoy their meals in their personal space without the stress that comes from being in a crowded environment or the exhaustion of trekking through the snow after a long day during the winter. Though Paresky attempts to provide a diversity of options for students, sometimes it becomes unpalatable to students with dietary restrictions and preferences, which makes food delivery more necessary. My gluten-free friend finds it tiring to look for a new meal to enjoy when the main menu consists of hot dogs with gluten. Even for students without such preferences, access to food delivery means relishing cuisines that serve as reminders of home, which comforts us amidst both academic and social challenges.
It is true that these positive effects of food delivery access coexist with the valid concerns presented by the administration. However, many of these concerns are either minuscule or can be largely mitigated through instilling regulations. For instance, access to food delivery does not remove student interactions, as social interactions over meals in Paresky often occur within predisposed social circles that carry on from other parts of students’ days. In fact, students prefer to go to Paresky for a meal on most days, as it is the most convenient option for students (between classes, after athletics, etc). Thus, food deliveries do not reduce the students from having meaningful social interactions in Paresky; instead, they supplement the limited time slots for meals. Further, the concerns of traffic accidents and strangers on campus can be prevented either by establishing designated pick-up spots, like many other boarding schools such as Deerfield Academy, or by opening up designated parking slots for food deliveries.
Access to food deliveries may seem insignificant to some adults. However, for students who live through hectic schedules and are far away from home-cooked meals, access to a variety of food options with flexible time slots allows us to take care of our well-being while also focusing on academic success and providing time to socially recharge. Likewise, the Task Force ought not instill a complete ban, but rather consider regulations that address the concerns while still providing food deliveries to the students.
