Pointlife
Much has been made of the appetizing choices, or lack thereof, at the Debot Dining Facility. This student who has made his way to the dessert salad bar island in upper Debot has to make a few fateful decisions. The first one, which food should he dish up on his plate, and second should he eat it.
The debate over Debot dining
Pointlife Reporter
Rumors about Debot dining continue to raise questions about the food’s quality. Despite the cheap options, many say they wonder about nutritional value and believe they can get a better deal elsewhere.
Many University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point freshmen say they have never eaten at Debot after hearing complaints from older students and friends. The word has spread to stay away from Debot, but is the food really that bad?
Many seem to favor the lower level over the upper level in Debot. Students feel that the upper floor reminds them of high school cafeteria food. For various reasons, people have a variety of excuses to opt out of eating there.
Michael Debruin, a UW-SP student, cites nutritional value for choosing to stay away from Debot.
“Every time I ate at upper Debot, I felt sick and the amount of grease on everything was horrible,” Debruin said.
Then there’s the biggest problem of them all: bowel movements. A student who wishes to remain anonymous states what many probably already know.
“The food has to make you have to poop about 15 minutes after you eat it.”
Despite being tight on money, UW-SP students think that sparing extra cash on food is worth the expenditure, because eating the same food gets sickening.
When students aren’t eating on campus it doesn’t mean they are spending a lot of money elsewhere in fancy restaurants. The two most common alternatives are frequenting grocery stores and cheap restaurants.
Some students who frequent Debot agree that the food at times can be unpleasant, but is often delectable. They feel that hype over the “bad” food overshadows the actual taste.
Jerry Wilson, a University Center dining employee, cites low funding as his biggest obstacle. He notes that the program gets merely $5.08 per day to feed one student three meals.
Despite being on a tight budget, he wants students to know that the food is brand name, including the beef, chicken and fish all of which aren’t filled with chemicals. Wilson adds that the variety of choices, from pizzas to the burgers in The Grill, give students plenty of options. Also, everything is baked daily.
Health wise, two soups are offered per day, along with a full service salad bar and plenty of fruit and juice options.
“Where else in the community can you get all of these options for just over five bucks per day?” Wilson asks.
Interestingly enough, UW-SP dining will stop contracting from the company. As of June 1, UW-SP dining will be run by the state. Perhaps this turnover will once again raise the debate over Debot dining.
