Opinion: Mason’s Services Are Too Inconsistent

By Broadside Opinion Columnist Scott Mason

I hold George Mason University very dear to my heart. I’ve had some of the best experiences of my life here. I’ve had great relationships, both professional and personal, and the professors that give their valued insight and time to teach us are truly worth the whole of my tuition. However, the services provided by the university are, to say the least, inconsistent.

While Southside just opened and now provides great food to those who frequent the Fairfax campus, the luxury comes with a cost. Anyone who has eaten there at dinner knows that the cost is outrageous: over $9 with tax. Food prices have shot up all over campus, and both of the convenience stores’ prices seem higher than ever.

As a vegetarian who has eaten at Southside, food can be pretty sparse in regards to true vegetarian options, often earning strange looks from those preparing food when you ask them, “Please, no meat on my sandwich.” There are no veggie-burgers available either, and all too often the hope of eating good, hot food from the 4400 Grill in Southside is dashed when I discover that the menu consists of mostly meat options—and let’s face it—half a grilled cheese sandwich is never enough. Also, asking the cooks what’s in the food is sometimes difficult due to language barriers. I’m certainly not against them because I can’t understand them; however, as someone who takes care to pay attention to the food I eat, it’s just very frustrating. Now, there are things that people who have dietary limitations can eat, but it can be hit or miss.

That’s my main criticism: inconsistency. Food quality and food options can be stellar one day of the week and deplorable the next—not only at Southside, but all over campus. The feeding of over 17,000 undergraduate students is no small task, but consistency in service is something I think is attainable.

There is no reason why my friends’ chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A change size depending on the day of the week, or that you have to show up for breakfast an hour before it’s actually over to be able to eat breakfast food.
The quality also fluctuates. It was undoubtedly better this past week, because it was Family Weekend and the service must impress those paying the tuition and meal plans.

Further, Parking Services can go weeks without ticketing someone for illegally parking behind Fenwick Library, and then in one day everyone who dares to park there will receive citations. I am sure that many have also received parking tickets when they either forgot to hang their permit or because Parking Services didn’t bother to look for a parking sticker. Perhaps Parking Services just “missed” their hang tag altogether. It’s ridiculous that we have parking attendants who one day won’t hesitate to give us a ticket and then gloss right over the person parked right next to us.

Mail Services is one of the banes of my existence. They have gotten much better over the past year. The days of waiting until Friday to get a package that was delivered on Monday are over. However, many of us have had our mailboxes changed on us without our knowledge. Sometimes a slip does not make it into the right box. The fact that you cannot buy stamps or postage supplies with a debit card is preposterous. It feels as if one moment they are working for you and the next against you.

Lewis Black, the comedian who was here on Saturday night, was in the movie Accepted, a movie that challenges the traditional roleof college in a young adult’s life. It claims that college is first and foremost a service industry and they need to “serve us.” My professors are outstanding. I know without a doubt that they are preparing me for the world outside of Mason, and thus serving my need to be educated. But how are the stringent judicial/police policies, spotty food services, the inconsistent enforcement of parking policies by parking officials, irregular mail and other inconsistencies serving our needs as students? Why can’t we just have consistent food and enjoy ourselves on weekends without the fear of losing our entire shot at higher education?

I’m not saying we should all quit Mason and go create a school like in Accepted, but we need to become more active in working for the change in policy we wish to see on campus. There is no reason why we can’t. Anything we can do will help; get our families who came to Mason this weekend involved, talk to your student senate, write letters to the editor, write to the Virginia House of Delegates that give us funding—there is so much that we can do that will change how things are done at this university. It’s about time we as students did it.