As I finish my freshman year at Clemson University, I have been reflecting on what has shaped my day-to-day life on campus. From rigorous classes and meeting new friends to making a huge life adjustment, the last thing I expected to shape my experience was the dining hall. Most days, I found myself leaving the dining hall feeling worse than when I walked in, which is why I believe Clemson Dining needs to do better.
Most of the dining hall food at Clemson is provided by major contractors like Aramark, which uses suppliers such as Sysco to deliver large quantities of food at low cost to University students. However, this results in dining experiences defined by low-quality, highly processed food rather than nutritious, fresh meals.
It is evident in the overcooked, bland and high-sodium food that this reliance on mass production does more harm than good. Nine times out of 10, I am bloated and inflamed from one small meal, leaving me to now deal with digestion issues and a lack of nutrients.
However, this is not my main point.
Rather, I emphasize that, in addition to failing to provide nutritious food for students, the dining halls lack control over cross-contamination and offer a limited variety of options for those with severe allergies. I personally deal with a severe peanut, tree nut and sesame seed allergy, which truly limits me to the Naked Food Station at McAlister Dining Hall. This station is supposed to be my saving grace, yet I have dealt with undercooked chicken and crunchy rice more times than I can count.
Most of the time, my friends have a variety of colors on their plates, filled with greens, protein and fiber, but when the allergy station serves undercooked meat for the fifth time in a row, I am forced to rely on a nutrient-deficient meal and a snack later in my dorm.
I was told by one of the nutritionists that I would be able to expand my options and eat at other stations. Still, every time I inquired about the food being served that day, I was immediately denied and restricted to the same station. These inconveniences have slowly turned into exclusion.
Why are sesame seed bagels, buns and chicken the default when sesame is a major allergen? Why is cross-contamination so common at places like the salad bar and fruit stations, where it could be easily prevented? Why am I feeling excluded from enjoying a good meal?
Plus, McAlister has proved that you can’t always trust what you are being served.
I spoke with multiple random students to learn more about their own experiences with the dining halls on campus.
One student I spoke to had an allergic reaction due to mislabeling. She described how she got a bowl of what she thought was just macaroni and cheese and took a big bite of shrimp instead of pasta, which led to an allergic reaction during her class later that day. Even though it made her more cautious of what she was eating, this is truly unacceptable.
The other day, I sat next to two students who were contemplating whether their chicken was chicken or shrimp. Are we kidding? Students should not be the ones to bear the consequences of poor management and a lack of transparency.
Another student told me they got food poisoning from the Douthit Community Hub, which made them more scared to eat there. Various students on YikYak have posted photos and made comments revealing flies in fruit, plastic baked into brownies at Douthit, hair found in their food and unclean dishes with globs of food from previous meals still not washed off.
Over time, these interactions start to affect more than what I eat — they affect how I feel. I have dealt with constant bloating and digestion issues since I started to eat here, which is something students shouldn’t just have to accept.
I should not have to tolerate being laughed at by Clemson Dining staff when I ask for an explanation. It should not be normalized for students to walk around campus not feeling like themselves, simply because they cannot receive the quality and transparency they pay for.
Freshmen at Clemson University are required to pay $3,000 per semester for meal plans. And for that price, too many students are walking into the dining hall wondering whether their food will make them sick.
That shouldn’t be something anyone has to question. Clemson Dining needs to do better.
Sarah Neighbor is a freshman biochemistry major from Columbus, Ohio. Sarah can be reached at [email protected].
