The highs and lows of eating in the Caf

An Open Letter to the Caf:

Let me start by saying that I respect you and all of the food you have provided for Oklahoma Christian University students throughout the years. There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of cereal or a cookie lovingly bestowed by Ms. Betty.

Finals week would be nothing without your Late Night Breakfast, and who doesn’t love making a waffle at whatever time of day suits their fancy? Unfortunately, cafeteria, your faults are beginning to catch up with you.

Let us start at the very beginning. Walking from chapel into the student center has become an absolute nightmare. What happened to people walking in at the front doors, waiting in line through the hall, and occasionally yelling at those who jumped the line with their friends?

The swelling numbers pushing through the gates only begin to skim the problem of what is happening in the cafeteria. When people are encouraged to enter on both sides of the podium, and their IDs are scanned at lighting-fast speeds, the serving-line area becomes far too full, and there is simply no escape.

Once your portions are divided and served, and we make our way into the dining room, true panic is likely to ensue. While some would call a picnic on your floors romantic, I prefer a table with chairs.

All good things must come to an end, and a meal within your walls must draw to a close as well. I understand the removal of the trays several years ago, and I applaud your desire to conserve water. There must be a better solution however, to scraping the food and trash from our plates onto large tubs on a cart. I would love to sugar coat (or in this case gravy, milk, or cheese coat) the situation, but I cannot.

Finally, I want to say again that I do appreciate what you, the cafeteria, do for us all.

Although people can always find something to complain about, your ability to prepare quality food for hundreds of students says a lot about you.

Yours truly,

A 5th-year lover of Coke Icees

Natalie Howard is a senior at Oklahoma Christian University