I rolled out of bed, rubbed my tired eyes, put on my black disposable mask from Costco and made my way through the cold to Peregrine Dining Hall. I pressed my key card up to the sensor and stumbled inside the building. My eyes must have looked crazed, hungry and hawk-ish.
Like so many other hungry New Paltz students, I paid little attention to my surroundings. I didn’t notice that the gray doors leading up to the cafeteria were closed and locked. I reeled back, confused and horrified. My mind must have gone black, because I found myself sitting on a bench outside my old dormitory, the Peregrine website pulled up on my phone. What it showed on the drop-screen pulverized my brain into something truly horrific: Every day for the rest of the semester, the dining hall would only be open for dinner.
While this introduction may be filled with intense hyperbole, I think my feelings towards Peregrine no longer serving breakfast and lunch is painfully clear. I, along with countless other students on campus are still paying the same price for a meal plan, despite the fact that we can no longer get eggs or french toast sticks in the morning.
In this column, I will explore why the campus administration and Sodexo decided to cut breakfast and lunch off the Peregrine menu, as well as highlight the various ways students are getting creative in order to get nutrition throughout the day … and much more.
So join me as I journey into the mysterious world of food stoves-tops and dirty dishes in this Oracle column: Meal or no Meal.