Free O.C. student lunches a good idea

By Staff Editorial     9/4/08 7:00pm

If you're an off-campus student, food is a big deal. Most off-campus students aren't masters in the kitchen, and their main recipes are easily made, pre-packaged, sometimes tasteless food. And who has an hour or even thirty minutes to prepare a meal? Many off-campus students resort to microwavable cuisines or a meal at a restaurant or deli. It can get to be expensive.But Will Rice and Wiess Colleges have a solution: offer free lunches to off-campus students once a week in their respective serveries (See story, page 1). Will Rice came up with the idea two years ago, and Wiess tested the idea last spring and decided to implement it this semester. These two colleges have the right idea, and we think it is something the other seven should implement.

As it is, off-campus life is pretty isolated. Many off-campus students go "deep OC," never to be heard from again. Implementing a free lunch system at the colleges promotes more involvement in the colleges, which isn't such a bad thing. And even if not all off-campus students take advantage of the free lunches, the gesture is nice. But really, what off-campus college student in his or her right mind would refuse a free meal?

The only inconvenience with the setup is that the free lunches are not without a price. They cost about $2 to prepare, totaling about $60 since around 30 students are taking advantage of them.

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Considering the comparably huge sum of money each college holds in its budget, it seems quite reasonable that all the colleges could start this sort of lunch program, whether on a full or partial scale. We fully encourage any sort of implementation, because the financial burden is more than offset by the benefits it brings to the members of each college's community.

The free lunch idea is great - college students love anything that involves the word "free" and "food." But if there is one thing we know, it is that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Ultimately, though, we feel that this is the type of meal the colleges would be wise to pay for.

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