There is nothing worse than walking into the dorm convenient store, commonly known by students as the "C" store, feeling hungry as ever, and having to pay the outstanding prices that they charge for food. The food is all way too expensive, and everyone around campus knows it. A small box of cheese-its costs $6.45; is that not ridiculous?
To try and find out more information on the subject, I interviewed the woman, Rejoice, who works in the "C" store in the freshman dorm, Johnson-McFarlane. When asked if she thought the prices were fair to college students, she agreed with the majority of the dorm residents and said she thought that they were ridiculously over priced as well. She explained the process of how to get the prices lower and, believe it or not, the students play a very big role in this. At the end of every year there is a survey that students fill out and price changes for the following year are based on their comments. Surprisingly, the current prices have actually been lowered from last year. Rejoice's knowledge on the current prices is limited and she does not have much of a say in the prices in the store. The fact that they have a monopoly on the food sold in the dorm is unfair to us students, because it results in unfair prices that we will pay regardless, due to the fact that there is no other option close by.
These stores are like a trap to students. They lure us into their over priced store, then mark up the food that we buy the most. Candy bars, soda, cereal, and snacks are very expensive. The items that aren't marked up are the products that are already so expensive they can't possibly sell at a higher price. These include the Naked juices, ice cream, and energy drinks. Kids usually end up spending all of their meal plan cash in the "C" stores and don't have any left to buy meals for dinner. This leaves students disappointed that they have to eat at the cafeteria for the rest of the quarter and cant enjoy a nice chipotle burrito or a bowl of noodles.
Sodexo is the company that owns the "C" stores in J-Mac and Halls, Jazzman's, the pub, and supplies all of the cafeterias with food. They are a big enough company that I think they can afford to cut college students a break. They are robbing us of our meal plan cash and flex money. They probably don't care because they think that parents endlessly refill their kids flex dollars. Yes this is true in some cases but not all. Sodexo needs to take into consideration the average college student's budget and lower their prices.
What is there that we can do as students to try and change these outrageous prices? If we seriously want a change we have to have people filling out the surveys at the end of the year. Don't be selfish and say "Oh it doesn't matter, I wont be living in J-Mac or Halls next year." It does matter. Sodexo manages all of our coffee shops in the Law Building, Driscoll, Olin, and the library. It is important that everyone comments on the prices. To get more fair prices, we as customers have to make it clear we want them cheaper.
This is probably my favorite blog! As a resident of Centennial Halls, I am truly and directly affected by the overpriced goods at the "C" store. Many times I have walked in with hopes of buying a good candy bar to snack on but the only thing i walked out with was disappointment and questions as to why the food there is so expensive! I totally agree with you when you state how the "C" store and Sodexo's plan is to drain all your money away. They present to you meal plan's that seem as if they had lots of meal plan cash but that is quickly spent because of the high prices and in the end what you thought was alot of money turns into only a little bit because of these ridiculously high prices. I like the fact that you provide evidence for this by reaching out to one of their own (A "C" store employee) to justify that the prices are in fact too high. Overall I think that you tackled this issue very well and handled your audience in a good manner. We are all affected by this and you made a good point on pushing for a change because it doesn't matter because we all consume from these store whether it be the "C" stores or the cafe's around campus.
ReplyDeleteVictor Valle
This was piece was really persuasive for me. Being one of the students that has blown all my meal plan cash on the c-store i completely agree with this argument. I bought one of those tiny boxes of cheez-its for 6.45 before i knew that was the price. I ran out of meal plan cash in the first 2 weeks of the quarter because of the absurd prices. There is a strong appeal to pathos in this post. I felt angered about how they seem to rip us off as much as they can with the ridiculous prices. It is definitely true that not all students' pockets are filled with their parents money and that sodexo needs to take this into account. Overall this persuades me to be brutally honest on the surveys that we will fill out at the end of the year. I do not feel that the c-store or Sodexo deserves any break when it comes to the high prices in their stores. They certainly deserve to know that their prices are making students angry.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your intro because I could definitely relate to horrible frustration upon walking into the C-Store and seeing their over-priced goods. I especially like that you talked to one of the employees at the C-Store; it showed commitment and that you truly care about the topic—well done—this sent your positive ethos through the roof. I found the fact that students actually have a say in pricing to be striking, I never knew about the survey you mentioned. I also like the fact that you knew the name of the company that owns most of the convenience places around campus; again, this just strengthened your ethos. I think to strengthen your argument, you might emphasize the purpose of a “convenience” store: to be convenient, and that the prices are anything but convenient for students. The C-Store is supposed to be an alternative for students when the dining halls are closed; outrageous prices cause students to go hungry.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this project as it was a fun and interactive way to learn about how to build a respected ethos. I enjoyed reading comment and feedback on my writing in a realistic way. From this project, I learned that using credible sources is a good way to start off the foundation for a good strong ethos. For my piece, I did some research on the company and found out the other places that they run around campus. Most of these places student didn't know were run by the same company or even what company. Then with an interview from Rejoice, I obtained enough information and first hand information that I used to build a strong argument against Sodexo. Although I got a little feedback, revising this for my final portfolio will be difficult because the readers seemed convinced by my writing and all seemed to find out new information. I feel that it was a success because I can use this as an example to edit my other pieces. To make it more convincing i have to stress the fact of a "convenient" store.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Craig, for your discussion here. From what you've written, I would agree that it sounds like items in these C-stores are overpriced, and I would agree with your peers who found that your use of Rejoice's testimony helps enhance your ethos. Here's what you might further consider as you revise this post for your portfolio: Your third paragraph contains some important ideas, but notice how generally you've stated them. Here's the moment for some additional (and very specific) information on pricing and an explanation of how it isn't fair. (For example, you might walk down to Safeway and tell us how much soda there costs ...) Also, I wonder, were you able to turn anything up from Sodexho itself that might provide some justification from their point of view as to why they charge what they do?
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