Reporter
On campus at CSU Bakersfield, the Runner Café is a prime spot for students to grab lunch. The often-packed Runner Café offers a variety of meal vendors, snacks, and drinks, with lines stretching from the kitchen area to the dining area. Many students who may seek to eat on campus are often stuck in these lines, and students who try to grab something to eat before class often have to wait until after class to eat.
The cause for the lines is that students who live on campus are required to eat in the Runner Café as part of their meal plan. In addition to the students actually living on campus, the general campus population has increased, adding more hungry students to the mix. The Runner Café is one of the only places where students with a meal plan can eat, meaning that students who live on campus often may miss a meal due to a conflicting schedule, and with wait times in the cafe they may not be able to stop for a quick snack before class either.
Generally, students who eat at the cafe only have certain times during which they could grab a bite before a class starts, or before the café closes. Students with night classes may not be able to get a meal either since the Runner Café’s hours end at 5 p.m. After 5 p.m., the Runner Café becomes open primarily for students with a meal plan, and is a buffet rather than a meal vendor serving students.
“I think it’s not fair that the Runner Café closes so early because people with night classes are stuck going to the vending machine, choosing snacks that aren’t as healthy as real food,” said junior Maraia Tfao, a child, adolescent and family studies (CAFS) major.
Students who do not live on campus may not be able to grab a quick snack, like a candy bar, or an easy meal, like sushi, because of the Cafe’s hours. Most students are unaware that the cafe is only open for students with a meal plan after 5PM, and are surprised to find that they must pay before they can enter the Cafe.
“I used to be able to grab sushi in between or after classes but now the wait time is almost the exact time gap I had to eat my lunch,” said junior CAFS major Giovanha Silva.
In some cases students have come inside to eat thinking the cafe had extended hours for the day or a special event, only to find out later that it is a designated meal time for students who live on campus.
“I think the Runner Café should be open until at least 7 p.m. before they open for only those with a meal plan,” said BJ Stronge, a junior and criminal justice major. Indeed, many hungry, late-night studiers would tend to agree.
