ARAMARK listened to students
By Will Wingfield
Managing Editor

Midterm weeks are rough on the student body. Everyone is operating on negative hours of sleep, nerves are frayed and everyone’s got something more important to do. Two days ago when I grabbed a coffee and muffin breakfast in at the food court in Benson, what I saw was a strange sight. Most everyone was wearing sweats, hats and, in one case, their leopard-print bedroom slippers, to conceal their unshaven, unkempt appearances. I suppose it’s a good statement about our school that we generally care more about academics than our appearance. Well, maybe only for this week.

And the dining area was, for once in the history of mankind, completely silent. Everyone had out their books and their highlighters, and were cramming diligently.

However, one thing has become less of a strange sight recently: that of the food service area in Benson Center.

I wrote a review a month ago (“Benson’s facelift brings new flavors,” Sept. 6, 2001) criticizing the elimination of familiar menu options at the food court, many of which have been mainstays of the dining experience at Wake Forest for as long as I can get anyone to recall.

However, since that time, most of the missing items I have heard students gripe about at the beginning of the year has been summarily reinstalled as a regular item in Benson. No longer do we, as students, miss late-night breakfasts, Gatorade, pretzels, or, most recently replaced last week, the infamously inexpensive Benson grilled cheese.
No longer must we order a patty melt without meat in order to obtain such goods.
As much as I’ve heard general student complaints about the variety and taste of food available in Benson, our ARAMARK representatives on campus have been working diligently to make available what students want within a quick time frame. Apparently, all you have to do is ask.

Last year, I reported on one service that has been mostly overlooked by student body. At http://wakeforest. ecampusservices.com, students can add money to their meal cards or order personalized gift baskets for people on campus.

What’s more, workers in Benson and the Pit have been actively soliciting suggestions and survey responses within the past month, and students’ responses on those surveys also go a long way in effecting positive change in the university’s food service options.
And some of the new options added this year are good, too. Personally, I never had eaten Pan Geos more than once a month last year, but now it seems like I’m eating a different wrap sandwich or flatbread or pasta creation every day of the week.
I’m still slightly missing a Coca-Cola soda fountain, though, but that’s more of a personal preference. Plus, Coke and Pepsi are essentially the same anyway.
So, to those tireless people that pull the strings behind the scenes at ARAMARK, kudos, and thanks. For those tired people in Benson, try to get some sleep.