The Student Association Senate spent about half of Monday’s meeting lamenting the lack of variety, steep prices and slow service at J Street.
Sen. Jordan Werner, SMHS-G, said the University has gradually made “vast improvements” to J Street in his six years as a student, but pointed out problems like long waits at the new Metro Diner.
“It took me a half an hour to get a turkey burger and then it sucked,” Werner said.
Sen. John Bennett, U-at-Large, questioned Sodexo’s portion-to-price ratio and said other venues on campus offer students more food for their money.
The finance committee chair said he recently paid about $7 for “two pieces of Wonder Bread and two ounces of meat” at a J Street venue.
“Would it be a viable to option to bring down pricing?” Bennett asked.
Student Association President John Richardson charted upcoming efforts to focus more University funding for “the student experience.”
As the University continues to pour more money into academics as part of the Innovation Task Force, Richardson said he will urge it to move further into student life, “on the scale of millions of dollars.”
Chair of the Student Dining Board Ben Leighton was on hand to answer questions and pointed to other venues on campus as examples of what varied dining options students have access to.
The Senate also unanimously passed a bill that confirms sophomore Michael Buss as GW’s representative to the District-wide student advocacy group, D.C. Student Alliance. The bill also calls for GW to adopt the organization’s charter and further expand communication among area schools.
Representatives from the D.C. Student Alliance’s political partner group, D.C. Students Speak, spoke to senators about the importance of registering student voters in the District.
Sophomore Patrick Kennedy, who is helping to launch a chapter at GW, said out of 10,000 undergraduates, just 57 students voted in the last Advisory Neighborhood Committee election.
Kennedy urged students to register as D.C. voters and said the “absurd” noise ordinances affecting off-campus student residents exist “because students are not in the local government.”
