Cafeteria

Many students take night courses at Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC), and often miss their opportunity to eat a decent meal because of limited cafeteria hours. According to a recent poll about whether the cafeteria should have extended hours to be able to service all students or not, many believe that the cafeteria shouldn’t be open longer and it is the student’s responsibility, not the schools to acquire a healthy meal. Student Justin Adams said, “There is a reason why the cafeteria has the hours it does. It’s impractical to keep the cafeteria open during hours when it’ll cost more money to run than make. Plus, that money [to keep it open] would most likely come straight from the student’s pockets. A lot of people don’t even use the cafeteria, so why would they want to pay for it?”

However, not everyone agreed with Adams, saying that it is unfair that not every student receives equal opportunities, even when it came down to food. Amanda Ross, another ARCC student explained, “Not everyone has the means, or the time to eat a healthy meal before coming to class. As a night student, it is frustrating to only have vending machines to turn to. Many night students are busy during the day so they are forced to take classes at night. It doesn’t seem fair that these students aren’t afforded the same opportunities as the rest,”

So although cafeteria hours are unlikely to change in the near future, there are still some solutions to this dilemma. Prepare a meal ahead of time that can be brought to school. Often there is time between classes or during breaks for students to get a chance to eat. Even just bringing an apple can help ease the hunger before going home. Another option is to visit the cafeteria early, and buy something to eat later. There are many other possible solutions like these out there, they just requiring a bit of planning ahead of time.