Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Bring me your nachos, your chips, your cups o' microwavable soup...

Here is an item, sent by a former colleague who is now at another of our nation's MOO Universities, followed by my colleague's comment in italics.

Such memos and committees, of course, are not found only at ye olde land-grants. Yet I have a raft of emails about parking garage cleaning schedules, street closures, power outages, and so on that I receive almost daily. We professors do not spend ALL our time breathing the rarified air of metaphysics. We do the following:

*Final open forum on vending needs is Tuesday*

The final open forum to discuss the future needs of snack vending and beverage vending on campus will be at noon Tuesday, June 19, in the second floor lobby opposite the information desk in X Center.
Comments and questions can be directed to Y.

Seriously? An open forum on future vending needs at the university? And the final one at that, meaning there have been OTHERS? I bet Y hates his/her job. I'm tempted to send my comments: Dear Y, I am glad to see that LAND GRANT is FINALLY taking action to understand the diverse vending needs at this fine institution. It is a long time coming, let me tell you, but something is better than nothing, that's what I always say.

There is something my colleagues and I have been debating for quite some time now. To wit: how would you characterize the current philosophy of the LAND GRANT vending group? I mean, there are some folks who advocate a strict traditionalist perspective: chips (nacho, potato, and maybe Cool Ranch if feeling a bit edgy), Baby Ruth, and the occasional skinny bag of peanuts. Then there are the trend-setters: Banana Twinkies, Salt 'n' Vinegar Chips, and even Cup o' Soup (SOUP in a vending machine??!!). I'm not sure there's a place for the trendinista vending crowd at this fine institution, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the subject. Respectfully submitted, Professor Z, BA, MA, PhD

PS - Don't EVEN get me started on all those faddish beverages. I mean, berry-flavored this and electric-blue that. And water??? Who buys water when you can get it for free from a good, old-fashioned, bacteria-laden fountain?