Dining Services lacks service over breaks

To the editor:

For all of Villanova’s plans to become a university with national ambitions, it certainly does not treat its national students well.

Like many who aren’t from New York, New Jersey or Pennsylvania, I chose to stay on campus over Easter break because of the expense and hassle of traveling to my home in the Midwest for such a short period of time.

Unfortunately, this is made more difficult by Dining Service’s ridiculous policy of shutting off meal plans during breaks.

Although I understand that Dining Services also wants a break, the fact remains that they hold a monopoly because most undergraduates live in residencee halls with no kitchen facilities and no easy access to a grocery store.

Since it is unreasonable and expensive to go out to Wingers or Campus Corner for every meal, I am therefore forced to scrounge for whatever survival food can be had at 2nd Storey at the constantly inflated price and survive only on what can be made in the microwave.

In contrast, a friend of mine at William and Mary informs me that while their dining service reduces operations during breaks, the cafeteria remains open and meal plans continue to be accepted for those who do not or cannot travel.

I do not think, given the extraordinarily high board costs of this university, that it is unreasonable for Dining Services to keep one cafeteria open over breaks and continue to accept meal plans.

Part of being a national university includes taking care of its national students, and so long as the university fails to do this, Villanova will remain a regional university.

-Gabriel Boisvert, Sophomore

Basketball unity: good, General unity: lacking

To the editor:

The NCAA tournament was great for Villanovans because it offered a feeling of unity.

There’s nothing quite like rioting with hundreds of people and seeing tiny “Go ‘Nova” signs appear in the local stores of towns that are usually annoyed by our presence.

Everyone was suddenly very proud to be associated with Villanova, but what does our basketball team making it to the Final Four really say about any of us?

Our basketball team making it to the Final Four says something about the ability of our athletic department to recruit excellent athletes, but there is nothing for each Villanova student to be proud of.

It is good that we experienced unity, but over what cause?

Why don’t the hundreds of people in that riot care about donating money to the Habitat for Humanity fundraiser, attending the Rape in Congo presentation on Thursday or actually going to the meetings for the clubs they signed up for at the activites fair like STAND, FaceAids, Bread for the World, etc.?

Why is it that people only want to participate in activities that require competitive applications like Blue Key Society that will look good on a resume?

I’ve seen ‘Nova Nation’s passion, and I can’t even imagine the result if only half the students were that passionate about important causes on campus.

If we’re only ever unified over basketball, what does that really say about Villanova? What have any of us done?

If a majority of Villanova students got together and actually rallied for something that mattered, maybe it would finally be time for us to be proud.

Alexandra Frantz, Sophomore