BY JOSEPH DELLAVECCHIA
The big controversy this semester on campus? Booster Juice has replaced Union Burrito. For five years the Sheridan Student Union (SSU) had a Union Burrito open on the Trafalgar campus and it was known for being a different and unique place to eat.
This year, however, students were met with a shock when they arrived on campus to see that Union Burrito was now a Booster Juice. Immediately, students began to anonymously complain on the Facebook page Sheridan Confessions, one saying, “We are literally stuck here. On campus. With 3 Tims, Second Cup, coffee loft, a half of a Starbucks and now a Booster Juice. Who needs 6.5 drink shops?”
Allison Davis, a second year Photography student, voiced her concerns about the SSU’s current options on campus saying, “I feel like there isn’t enough food options unless you want Tim Hortons. I feel like the drink options outweigh the food options. I think the SSU needs to include more food options on campus, and cheaper options.”
Students aren’t just voicing these complaints online, they are also being very vocal to the staff at Booster Juice. Sydni Weatherson, a second year Craft and Design (Glass) student, worked for the SSU at Union Burrito and currently works at Booster Juice. “I will regularly get stopped in the hallway by people I know or who are regulars at the coffee loft and they will complain about Union Burrito…It happens multiple times a week,” Weatherson explained.
The employees believe that the students’ anger is misdirected, as the real problem is the budget cuts the SSU is facing from the provincial government. Weatherson said, “I’m just an employee so I don’t know the full story behind what happened but my understanding is that Union Burrito was not doing as well in terms of profits…And with Ford’s cuts to student unions it became a matter of what do we have to cut, and it (was) Union Burrito.”
When asked about this, the SSU president, Ben Leblanc, responded by saying, “One of the changes that we made related to budget was Booster Juice. We’re hoping that it will be more profitable than Union Burrito was. One of the challenges with Union Burrito was there’s a lot of preparation time in the back end. So staff need to come in (a) couple hours in advance…whereas with the Booster Juice…it allows us to run longer hours. So, you’re seeing us open at, for example, 9am, whereas Union Burrito was opening at 11 or 12.”
This answer, however, did not satisfy Davis. She said, “I understand how this might put pressure on the school and the SSU but it’s no excuse to have very few and expensive food options for their students. If you ask any random student what Sheridan needs to improve, I’m sure the majority would ask for better food options.”
Cara gabungny gmn ya…