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Harvard athletes say they need some hot meat in the morning
By adamg on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 1:12pm
The Crimson reports on meetings between a Harvard dean and undergraduates to discuss $77 million in cuts the university is making to tighten its budgets. While some students expressed concern about issues such as the elimination of late-night shuttle-bus service, athletes zeroed in on plans to eliminate hot breakfasts on weekday mornings, which Harvard says will save $900,000 a year:
... During the Lamont Cafe session, members of the Men's Varsity Swimming and Diving Team said the elimination of hot breakfast would take away a protein- and calorie-filled meal they and other athletes need after morning practices. ...
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Comments
those were the days...
I think we're dealing with a generation that has never had to face reduced expectations, especially at a school like Harvard.
I'll defer to others on whether the student safety concerns are merited, but when it comes to other provisions and services, the objections to cuts are pretty much what you'd expect from young folks who have had it pretty good and who may not fully understand what this meltdown did to alma mater's endowment income...or to the rest of world, for that matter.
I went to a public
I went to a public university and we were allowed hot breakfasts! The selection wasnt all that big but it did the trick. They tended to swap it out on a MTWTF schedule so one day it was scrambled eggs, the next it was sunny side up etc.
If Harvard wants to have athletes, and those athletes need to train in the mornings then there should be some options on getting protein into their systems. I live without a hot breakfast but thats because I sit in an office all freakin day, a hard boiled egg, banana, and cereal is overkill for my daily routine but for a kid who just swam a few miles thats a joke especially if he has to go to physics class right after!
it's not a matter of cold vs. hot breakfast
I agree that a physically active young student may be in more need of a big breakfast than an older office worker. The question is, who pays? Tuition & fees at most colleges don't pay the full cost of attendance.
So, at Harvard, if that meal was subsidized in part by endowment income and alumni/ae contributions, directly or indirectly, then there's a problem if those funding sources decline.
Similarly, the breakfast you had at State U. was likely subsidized, at least in part, by the taxpayers and perhaps some private donors. If tax revenues take a steep dive (and they appear to be doing so), that hot meal may be in jeopardy.
Then maybe they need to
Then maybe they need to raise the food prices a tad? It is Harvard after all, how much could a hot breakfast cost? I remember the meal plan at my school was close to 10 dollars per meal, and that was almost 10 years ago that I would have been applying and looking at schools and prices. I find it hard to believe that the school was having a hard time paying the bills with those prices for standard cafetaria fare.
usually...
private or public colleges pay private food service companies to feed students at certain prices. It usually the all you can eat $25 per meal kind of thing.
It shouldn't matter if the school is private or public.
Safety Issues
How long until somebody causes a dorm fire with an electric skillet?
depends
where I did my postgrad, dorms (undergrad and postgrad) are self-catering. IE everyone shared a kitchen, we had our own designated cabinet and fridge/freezer space. For the number of students cooking at any given time (and most students did cook at least ramen, the cafe food serving hours were very short), there was one fire that year, from a toaster that was left alone and the toast got stuck.
Speaking as somebody who
Speaking as somebody who worked as an RA for two years, cutting late-night shuttle service is a bad idea. It would amaze you how much trouble a drunk person (forget age, gender, anything, just plain old DRUNK) can get into walking even short distances.
I think the hot meals, if the kids are so worried about them, something can be worked out, something along the lines of "Pay the full cost if you want it."
One more thing: increasingly I'm noticing commenters here bagging on people below the age of thirty as a group. I'd just like to take a moment and point out here that there are plenty of people your age just as entitled, clueless and/or thick as any BU student (I refer you to any comments section over at the Herald).
It'd be great if stupidity wore away with age, but in my observation it tends instead to calcify and become immoveable.
Does Harvard plan to cut
Does Harvard plan to cut down the cost of their dining plans to coincide with the cut in services? If not, then the students definitely have a beef.
Good question
But given that Harvard's investments just aren't bringing home the bacon like they used to, is being forced to eat hard-boiled eggs instead of getting some fresh scrambled eggs that big of a hardship?
Sounds like they have to
trim the pork.
Harvard and its students
They should be able to hash this out.
Headline
Bad Adam! I refuse to go where you want me to followup with a headline so ripe as that one. Bad Adam! No!
I'll take this one
I live nearby, and will give hot meat to Harvard athletes any morning they like. Happy now Adam, Kaz?
Indeed
I owe you, man - just not some breakfast :-).
Thanks
I hated leaving that setup hanging so long.
Try craigslist...
Try craigslist...