End Aramark's monopoly

This is America, right? Land of the free [market], and home of the brave [entrepreneur]? Your economics professor says "yes," but Aramark and college administrations everywhere say "no." After continued solicitations of student opinions, and continued bad reviews by students and professors alike, why is Aramark still the dominant force in feeding our campus?

Strain your short-term memory to last month, when Sidelines ran an article about Aramark ["Aramark refutes claims of sub-par food quality" March 1]. In this article, a student accused Aramark of switching deli meats to "turkey-ham" and fresh fruit to canned. While Aramark must provide fresh fruit, per its contract with MTSU, the "turkey-ham" was actually being used. On the bright side, you don't have to go through the agony of choosing between the two anymore. Thanks, Aramark.

Last Fall, we ran a letter to the editor by a professor hosting a graduate school function. He complained that, due to Aramark's monopoly on food service, providing his students with coffee, bagels and orange juice would have cost the department - and therefore the taxpayers - $87. Furthermore, if he wanted to use off-campus food he would have to fill out forms and solicit approval from the Aramark office. An apt analogy is leaving the fox to guard the chicken coop. On the forms, it states that "Cost alone may not justify exception." In other words, there'd better be mold on our bagels, because otherwise, you're stuck with them. The professor funded the departmental function out of pocket, paying $25 to do what Aramark would have done for $87.

Our current policy means that Aramark has the lock-down on providing services. In this case, their mandated price was 348 percent of the free-market value. Do any of you hard-working taxpayers have a problem with this?

This isn't the first time Aramark has stepped on collegiate toes. With the magic of Google, the workings of Aramark's nationwide operations become visible. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, students actually held a protest in response to the renewal of Aramark's contract. Surprise, surprise, they cited the same issues that we encounter here at MTSU: high prices, low quality, no choice. A poster at the MIT protest expressed popular sentiment about Aramark's operating procedure: "stuff your face, the efficient, optimal way, the way we want you to."

Other universities where students are dissatisfied with Aramark include the University of Houston, the University of Manitoba, Trent University, Elon University, Witchita State University and many others. The emerging trend? Where Aramark goes, people become unhappy.

The troubling feature of this whole situation isn't just the turkey-ham. It's the command-economy feel of the whole thing. Want off-campus donuts for your department? Too bad. Want to use those Starbucks coupons in the coffee shop? Nope. Looking for a dollar-menu in the Burger King? Sorry. Economics professors, eat your hearts out. Aramark's monopoly of campus food is a perfect, shining example of what happens when free-market competition is removed. That's the one good thing Aramark provides us; a living example of an artificial price control.

Aramark's monopoly is anathema to the perfection of a free-market economy. If La Siesta were allowed to operate a quesadilla stand on the KUC Knoll, would prices be as inflated as they are now, with no competition? Hardly.

By allowing Aramark free reign on campus, the administration is selling out its students and professors, and anyone else who needs to eat. The prices are artificially high, and quality has been questioned on several occasions, at several Aramark locations. We also heard recently, in yet another letter to the editor, about Aramark's questionable staffing practices. Google it yourselves, people, and see how your compatriots at other universities, specifically MIT, feel about Aramark's iron-fisted command on their bellies.

Aramark is the Wal-Mart of food services; not the low prices or vast product selection though, the signature outsourcing7 and low quality.

MTSU needs to give Aramark the boot, and let the free market do what it does best. Imagine the magic of having a locally-owned Espresso Joe's in the KUC, with a LaSiesta satellite operation serving up real Mexican food. Perhaps we could lure Fat Moe's into the place of the faux Burger King that we're currently stuck with, and maybe some sort of whole-foods café to serve the vegetarians and organic-produce consumers. Let us eat healthier, happier and for less money, like the market wants.

For now, the Aramark monopoly stands. If there's one thing this university hates, it's the opinions of those pesky students. After all, nothing worse than letting people eat what they want.

Evan Barker is a senior music performance major and can be reached at ehb2d@mtsu.edu.