ASGC responds to student complaints about campus food

ASGC VP Edwin Cruz examines letters about Sodexo's service

By William Dudley

William Dudley

GROSSMONT COLLEGE — When Grossmont students get hungry, can they find adequate food choices and service on campus? Not according to some students, including board members of the Associated Students of Grossmont College (ASGC).
The ASGC has been receiving complaints about campus food and Sodexo, the French multinational corporation that is contracted by the college district to operate most eateries at both the Grossmont and Cuyamacca campuses. In response, the student association has set up information booths to educate students and solicit input on their food experiences with Sodexo. ASGC plans to make student concerns heard at the next meeting of the Food Advisory Committee, scheduled for October 21 at 3 p.m. at the College Conference Center.
ASGC Board member Sikarra Devers has collected and read some student complaints and has noticed several themes. One is that students are dissatisfied with the food choices available, especially the absence of fresh and healthy food (an issue covered by the Summit here). Students taking evening classes have complained that there are even fewer choices available to them because of Sodexo’s limited hours of operation.   
 
Students have also complained about the lack of value for money. ASGC Vice President Edwin Cruz estimates that while five dollars can buy enough food to feed two or three students at a place like Fresh ‘N Easy, it can barely buy enough to feed one person from Sodexo facilities. But many students, according to Devers, say that going off campus to eat is not an option because of class schedules and parking hassles.
 
Another complaint has been how students are treated by Sodexo employees, with some students saying customer service has been poor and even rude, and that employees who did provide good service have been let go.
 
Roger Stillman, who arrived a few weeks ago as the interim  general manager for Sodexo operations at Grossmont, stated that Sodexo “is aware there have been concerns raised,” saying further that “we are working the best we can with what we have.”

Daily Aztec tells of woes of Community College students seeking SDSU admission

 

SAN DIEGO — The Daily Aztec, student newspaper at San Diego State University, has researched the statistics concerning how many students from local community colleges were denied SDSU admission prior to the time the Legislature passed a bill giving priority to local students. Among vignettes is one concerning Grossmont College graduate Bill Crotty.  Here is a link to that article by Robert Moreno in the October 13 edition.