Open Letter 2
Note: things in strikeout have been corrected in subsequent emails.
Kyle,
thanks for this, you’ve been great for the two years I’ve been here, and I’m glad you’re willing to respond to student concern.
I wrote this email in no connection with Amy or any environmental organization on campus (Jodie from the academy supports Tim Horton’s coming in), and so my opinion doesn’t really reflect Amy’s or anyone else’s, probably. Amy just told me a brief summary of your meeting, and how Tim Horton’s came up as the top choice in focus groups.
I don’t particularly appreciate what appears to be (as in, I never heard about it before the ASU website reported it…was it open?) the closed nature of the decision…the ASU missed a huge opportunity to involve students in a decision they actually care about. I never would have won a fight against Tim Horton’s with students, but most of them have no idea how ASU decisions affect them, or even know what the SRC is (this includes me, before halfway through this year), and debate over a foodservice would have sparked some intrest. And maybe some thought as to the developed-nation exploitation (that was not intended to rhyme) of third-world resources, but that probably would have been forgotten by dinnertime.
I understand that most students prefer cheap food (or cheap energy, cheap tuition, cheap beer or cheap clothing, for that matter) over environmentally responsible food, and that the initial influx of money is helpful. I would have rather you point out something like how the popularity of Tim Horton’s on campus would bring more students into the SUB making a more attractive community space. Using the former as a reason to favor a corporation over a student run business makes it seem like the asu can be bought out by corporate (local franchise sponsored by national corporation) intrests…using the latter links the decision to something other than individual student convenience (which always kills campaigns for sustianability).
Anyway, that’s the last you’ll hear from me on this. and don’t get me wrong…you do great work as president! And you’ve always been super helpful to all of the stuff I’ve done with the AES this year.
-dewey