We have complained on more than one occasion about the prices of food in the dining halls of Stony Brook University. It should not come as a shock to anyone on campus to hear of our dissatisfaction with the university for charging $2.25 for a $1.75 Vitamin Water, or $7.00 for weird vegetarian alternatives. But when we learned that the same prices are attached to products that have outlived their shelf dates’hellip;we had the same reaction that many of you would have.

Forget for a minute the questionable decision to leave certain products on the shelves; forget for a minute who bears responsibility for that decision; even forget the potential health risks that come with outdated sushi or expired milk; the fact that campus dining, somewhere along the hierarchy of the entire system, has decided to cover up the practice is highly suspect. Try getting adults, who can easily turn elsewhere for a meal, to pay full price for old products. Stony Brook students have considerably fewer alternatives to what the university offers, and the university knows, and exploits, this fact.

The fact that Lisa Ospitale, representing FSA, can say the Production Manager is doing his or her job adequately, means that somehow, someone running the Campus Dining operation knows that food is shelved past its due date.’ If the Production Manager knows what food goes on what shelf before and after the dining facilities are open to students, then it must be a conscious decision on the part of Campus Dining to leave food out, mix the leftover food with new batches of food, or heat food up in the case of pizza.’ Maybe the Production Manager at a particular dining center isn’t the only one who is keeping track of the food.’ Maybe the student employees are given some of the responsibility as well.’ As students ourselves, we are only able to speculate what goes on inside Campus Dining and FSA.’

It’s sad to say, the students of Stony Brook will be stuck with Campus Dining for years to come.’ Either we all suck it up and live out our four years here paying for sub-par service, or we hold Campus Dining accountable for its deplorable practices.’ Expired food, especially expired sushi, is a clear health hazard that should not be taken lightly.