Students raise a ruckus about the quality of canteen meals
Print Edition
THERE’S an old Spanish proverb: the belly rules the mind. At the Minhang campus of Jiao Tong University, where some of Shanghai’s finest young minds are in training, food is more than something for thought.
The importance of eating to students was brought home all too clearly by a recent uproar over the meals served on campus in the newly revamped No. 1 canteen, the most popular with students. The cafeteria, providing three meals a day, is under the new management of Shanghai Yanglixin Catering Management Co this year.
The canteen reopened at the end of October after redecorating work. Students were delighted to see the spacious new interior, but they were somewhat less enchanted with the quality of food on their plates. It not only tasted bad but it was also more expensive, and the canteen staff were surly, they complained.
“The number of seats decreased, so that the canteen is always crowded,” said a senior student who goes by the online name Escargot on the official campus bulletin board system. “And the number of dishes at normal prices also decreased drastically. Instead, we are served ‘high-price’ stuff like spicy griddle or Korean bibimbap, neither of which tastes very good.”
Escargot’s food reviews galvanized other students, who added their own complaints about the new canteen, like insects buzzing around the food, pork dumplings that were more flour than meat and griddle charges of 30 yuan (US$4.65).
Instead of the scientific and humanitarian debates characteristic at the 119-year-old university, canteen food quickly became the hottest topic on campus.
In early November, students held a sit-in at the main entrance of the cafeteria, where they defiantly ate takeaway food bought off-campus. Photos comparing the takeaway food with the meals served in the canteen were posted online.
A WeChat account JTSU Bickering was established by the college administration to ease tensions by giving students a place to post their grievances. Administrators told students on the account that the canteen was asked to assess its operations with an eye to taking complaints on board.
Some students said confrontation wasn’t the way to resolve the impasse. Students with the J&J Tomorrow’s Leaders School at the university urged students and canteen workers to engage in dialogue.
“As students, we meet with campus staff, such as canteen workers, security guards and dorm attendants, every day, but we rarely know what they think about us,” said Gao Chenling, one of Tomorrow’s Leaders. “At the same time, staff don’t know how we think about the work they do. So we thought we should provide a platform for both sides to get to know one another.”
A weeklong campaign was launched on campus to do just that. Organizers interviewed both sides and compiled their opinions into two videos. A message board was set up on campus for people to write what they think.
The process revealed that campus staff also have complaints. They griped about student sloppiness when it came to throwing away garbage and about students sneaking into dorms after midnight.
“We do try to understand the students,” said a dormitory attendant who asked to remain anonymous. “We know that students have all kinds of reasons for coming in late. They need to prepare for finals, do lab experiments, go on dates. We want to treat them like our own children and help them as much as possible.”
The conciliation effort also had students participate in role-playing simulating the chores that staff do.
“Through the role-playing, we came to realize that we may have taken it for granted to think that their work was easy,” said Gao. “We began to understand how intense some of their work is and mistakes they make may be caused by fatigue. We need to learn to be more tolerant.”
University officials have met with the canteen operator, suggesting seating and food quality be reviewed.
“We think the outcome of the campaign was satisfying,” said Gao. “We expressed our concerns and, at the same time, we heard different voices. Campus workers seemed pleased that we were willing to listen to them. One of the workers wrote on the message board thanking us for initiating this dialogue.”
Students are now waiting to see if the food and service improve in the No. 1 Canteen. At the very least, they are heartened by the fact that an effective coping mechanism has been established.
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