Campus food services leave much to be desired

Have you ever been in a situation where nourishment felt more like punishment?

Depending on the day and the previous customer, your dining experience in the Orange Room might resemble a day at boot camp.

Many have experienced the 9:57 a.m. shutout.

The 9:57 shutout is the three minutes before closing time for breakfast when the Orange Room doors become the Berlin Wall, and you salivate in admiration as others enjoy their pancakes and eggs.

A face on the other side of the door smiles with malicious intent because he or she has conquered your appetite cravings.

A dream becomes deferred.

And an ego becomes shattered because you are now the talk of the Set when you stumble on the uneven pavement distracted by the hunger cries of your stomach eating away at your esophagus.

“What you want?!” says an aggravated voice.

Startled, you become weak in the knees, palms begin to sweat, and your decision of a Philly cheese steak disappears in mid air.

Your reason for standing in line is now even less apparent.

Hesitantly you ask for a steak, but in your moment of uneasiness you forget to ask for peppers. You wouldn’t dare ask for them!

The aggressor on the grill has already begun to cook, and in anger this monster attitude of a woman might swallow you whole.

So you settle for meat and bread-a bit parched because mayonnaise and cheese would be overstepping the boundaries and would result in more moments of embarrassment.

True this an exaggeration, but it definitely doesn’t fall short from a prototype of an average day at the Orange Room.

But occasionally a smile is returned and the lettuce may actually make its way on to the bun instead of decorating the napkins.

The Orange Room does offer an array of foods to satisfy any craving or diet.

Even after standing in line for 10 minutes, ambushing someone for a seat, and jeopardizing a meal for tardiness to your next class- there wouldn’t be anywhere else to share an on campus meal with familiar faces other than the Orange Room.

Ashley Smith is a freshman public relations student from Atlanta. She can be reached at smithpeggy3@aol.com.