On Friday, March 16,
Bria Spease, a freshman, and
her four friends were eating
at Montgoris Dining Hall,
following their daily routine.
A while back, Bria had
picked up one of Montgoris’
apples and noticed it had
brown spot on it. She had not
eaten an apple since. But on
this particular day, she decided
to try an apple anyway.

After picking one up an
apple from the fruit crates,
Bria states that her apple
contained a soft part. She
handed the apple to one of
her friends for their opinion,
and was advised not to eat it.

Bria commented, “It just so
happens that it fell out of my
friend’s hand, and the soft
part fell straight off. Black
and brown stuff came out
from the apple. So we
looked inside it and it was
rotten and everything.” The
picture of Bria’s apple has
attracted numerous comments
on Facebook as well
as small talk around the campus
about the quality of the
food served to students at
Montgoris.

Although some students,
like Bria, complain about
their unpleasant food experiences,
others are concerned
that there are not enough
dietary options available for
vegetarians, those suffering
from lactose intolerance, and
those who desire to maintain
a certain figure. Serving
pizza, hamburgers, and pasta
daily are not helping students
consume protein and vitamins
as is recommended by
most pediatricians and dieticians.
Most meals served
there contain excess carbohydrates
and fat, with the
exception of fruits, vegetables,
and the sandwich station.

Altogether, there should
be no excuse as to why there
are these types of absurd
conditions existing in a dining
facility. One must also
note that last year, Montgoris
was one of four dining facilities
at St. Johns that failed to
pass its inspections from the
NYC Department of Health
due to several infringements
against the city health code.

On Feb. 9 2006, it had
received 36 violation points,
which is above the cutoff
number of 28 for failing
inspection. It also held the
highest amount of points
compared to the other three
facilities on campus.
Although it passed its most
recent health inspection, last
year’s initial failure is clearly
an example of negligence on
the part of the dining facility,
although the violations do
not correlate with the food
service.

At the end, we must all
keep in mind that St. John’s
students, as well as their parents,
invest money for the
dining facility each year, let
alone pay for the tuition.

Serving a cold plate of food
is out of the question, let
alone finding hairs on one’s
plate of food. St. John’s students
should at least have the
right to enjoy decent and satisfying
meals during their
college career.