April 6_October 6 4/6/11 4:29 PM Page 1
April 6, 2011 Volume lXV issue XiiI
Serving The Community Since 1948
The Pace Press NYC Campus dining halls temporarily shut down by the Health Department Ivonna thompson news editor
T
he student Government Association (sGA) held a town Hall Meeting with student leaders and the University Administration as a result of the closure of the nYC Campus dining Halls by the nYC department of Health and Mental Hygiene (doHMH) on March 30. starting in the Fall 2011 semester, Lackmann Culinary services will no longer be the University’s food vendor. Lackmann Culinary services did not notify the Administration of the closure according to the University Administration. “we were very disappointed; we did not know up front what [was] going on,” Auxiliary services director Mary Lieto said. According to the Administration, they were notified of the failed health inspection at 6 p.m. March 24. the Administration found out about the closure by the signs placed by the doHMH on the dining halls. the Administration assessed the
situation of the closures by meeting with dante’s restaurant. dante’s was chosen as the backup restaurant because the University used it as a catering service for the downtown Conference Center. University President stephen J. Friedman called for a strategy session meeting with the Administrative in regards to the dining halls for the rest of the semester on March 28. dean for students Marijo russello’Grady stated that the University will send a request for Proposal (rFP) and search for a new food service vendor. in the new proposal, students will have the opportunity to change the meal plan options, such as the meal plan being able to work both on and off campus. the reason why students were unable to use their meal plans off campus was due to the restrictive contract with Lackmann. in addition, to the University community becoming more involved, students can address what they are
looking for when searching for a new vendor. Pres. Friedman addressed the students in regards to the food policy prior to the shutdown of the dining halls. there was a quality service inspector who inspected the dining halls on a monthly basis. since the closure and reopening of the dining halls, the inspector will be making weekly inspections. Pres. Friedman said, “we [had independent] monthly checks on Lackmann, we do not rely on the vendor for check-ups.” Pres. Friedman also added that Auxiliary services is currently collecting and accepting receipts from the money that students spent on food when the dining halls were closed. the office of student Assistance (osA) is processing the receipts and placing all students’ reimbursements on their Pace one Cards. receipts were honored up to $30. students in attendance questioned Pres. Friedman in regards to
the unused money on students’ meal plans if students are uncomfortable eating food from the dining halls. some students requested having their money refunded or to open up the meal plan to outside facilities for the rest of the spring 2011 semester. Currently, the Administration is discussing the possibility of the Meal Plan being extended further this semester, but it is not set in stone. students also asked what caused the dining halls to fail the doHMH inspection. the Administration’s response was that none of the food was contaminated, but there were a total of 13 violations adding up to 79 points. some of the violations had higher point values than others. the violations included food being kept at the wrong temperatures and thermometers not being placed in food areas. there was no soap provided in the cleaning stations for workers to use before and Continued on Page 3
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