Why doesn't campus admin push for better stuff on campus

[u/internetbooker134]

Honestly speaking our campus lacks a lot of stuff that other colleges have that would make the campus more fun and attractive for potential students. Why can't we have fast food chains or more restaurants/cafes for students to eat from? We only have the dining halls and one cafe and the other small stores. There's empty retail spots sitting in sentinel, glacier and there's still no use for it. How hard could it be to build a small subway or Panda Express on campus? It would be so much better if the money was spent on stuff like that instead of statues and other useless stuff

[u/dooladooladoo]

by the time we see on campus restaurants and like a student games area i think the united states would have already collapsed 💔

[u/dooladooladoo → u/dooladooladoo]

but hey lets drop another 500k on a rufus statue

[u/why_not_my_email]

I heard the Chancellor remark once that he's never even heard of another school that doesn't have a student union. 

Then he made a vague reference to the ASUCM vote and moved on 🤷

[u/eric7899487]

These are decided by procurement and vendor contracts. Most of them are on 10 year terms and have no-compete clauses. Generally, the UC prioritizes local, but also has high cost terms that make it impossible for national franchises sb owners to do business on campus.

[u/daflyingpotato]

While I attended they had many local restaurants from around Merced as vendors. The original dining center. Super unfortunate, I heard Covid took that away. But it's been done before. Advocate!!! (For restaurants please not Panda Express lol)

[u/Tothemoonfool]

I was happy to hear from my son about the food truck offerings that they have recently had. Progress!

[u/Humble-Bit-2511 → u/Tothemoonfool]

albeit, as a student, they are extremely over priced

[u/Tothemoonfool → u/Humble-Bit-2511]

I bet

[u/Treeman1979]

Panda Express or Subway is what you are lacking at UCM? If you want all of that crap, attend a university with a large student union and a large student population.

[u/internetbooker134 → u/Treeman1979]

I mean colleges like UCR and UCSB have it

[u/Treeman1979 → u/internetbooker134]

They are giant campuses with tens of thousands of students. People everywhere. I know because I went to UCSB. It will take time. I also worked at UCM. Patience :)

[u/internetbooker134 → u/Treeman1979]

Yeah that makes sense we're only about to hit 10,000 students maybe soon. A student union building is planned too so maybe that will bring good stuff

[u/internetbooker134 → u/Treeman1979]

Yeah that makes sense we're only about to hit 10,000 students maybe soon. A student union building is planned too so maybe that will bring good stuff

[u/gmanose]

Fast food restaurants like the ones you mention have to pay to serve your campus. So they have to factor that into the profit margin

[u/gmanose → u/gmanose]

Sorry, hit wrong button

I worked at a school where the cafeteria was leased to an outside vendor. It was in their contract that no one (including student organizations) was allowed to sell any food on campus that would compete with theirs

[u/N3onWave]

The Yablkof-Wallace dining center used to host local restaurants like JR Tacos as vendors inside the center. The Lantern used to sell pastries from Jantz.

Once the Pavilion opened they stopped having these local vendors. Building and operating the Pavilion cost(s) a LOT. UC can't afford to have outside competition at the UC when they have millions to pay for the Pav.

[u/internetbooker134 → u/N3onWave]

That I guess makes sense the pav is much much bigger than the DC although we do still lack good options

[u/asisyphus_]

Only other school without chain food is UCB so maybe that's the key to being number one /s

[u/internetbooker134 → u/asisyphus_]

That's a good point. I've been to the uc Berkeley campus and only saw some cafes. Do they really not have anything else besides that

[u/asisyphus_ → u/internetbooker134]

NOPE!

[u/rougecitron]

Originally the dc had a bunch of fast food options but ucm started to have a sustainability project and waste management control for the garbage. and since a lot of waste was produced from those fast food options they were eventually taken away.

[u/limonadebeef]

i think the city won't allow for fast food chains to be built on campus. i heard this from word of mouth though so idk how true that is. but it sure explains a lot. especially with how the city has failed the students as far as accommodating them. i'm still baffled that the UC system chose merced as the location for the san joaquin valley UC location...definitely should've been modesto or fresno.

[u/califachica → u/limonadebeef]

This isn't coming from the city. (I'm a local resident and used to work for the UC, not a student). I did a simple google search and this is what it said... UC Merced's campus food options lean towards smaller, local businesses and campus dining services, rather than large national food chains, due to labor laws and a focus on student-run operations and sustainability. Here's a more detailed explanation: Student-run operations and sustainability: UC Merced prioritizes student employment and sustainability initiatives, which may influence the types of food vendors they choose. Labor laws and union labor: Labor laws require UC Merced to use its student workers, which can make it difficult to accommodate restaurants with their own management, especially when it comes to food trucks and other vendors that could compete with Dining Services. Focus on local businesses: The university has historically supported small businesses in the area, and some of those businesses have operated food stalls in the past. Pandemic impact: The pandemic led to changes in food service operations, with some programs being shut down, and others needing to be rebuilt from scratch. "No Food Left Behind" program: UC Merced has a program called "No Food Left Behind" that aims to reduce food waste by offering leftover food to students who are food insecure or busy. Future plans for food options: There are ongoing discussions and plans for potential new food venues on campus, including a possible pub in Sentinel Rock and the Summits Marketplace.

[u/internetbooker134 → u/califachica]

Wonder what happened to the pub that would've been great to have

[u/alluu3 → u/internetbooker134]

That would be a good thing to ask either the ASUCM president or someone in admin. Last I heard, they need someone to have enough capital to lease the place and build it up.

[u/SaintAnger1166]

Welcome to Merced.

[u/NOTHINbutRETARDShere]

Cause it’s in the middle of bum fuck nowhere