Frustration over the food options on campus at CSU Bakersfield is reaching a critical mass within the student body, and for good reason. Between the inflated prices and the limited diversity, our campus cuisine leaves much to be desired.

Students without the time or the means to travel off-campus for food can choose between any number of locales which all serve the same pre-packaged food you can find at most gas stations. Students who want a hot meal can either have a hamburger, a sandwich, a different hamburger, a different sandwich, or pizza. Diligent students who have already filed for their tax returns may even be able to add a soft drink in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately then, the best dining option for most students who spend long hours at school is to leave the school. Where CSUB represents a barren and hostile food desert, it is surrounded on all sides by an endless oasis of grocery stores, restaurants, and fast foods. For anyone with a car, a bus schedule, or a friend with a babybjorn, your best bet for something delicious and filling that’s worth your money is definitely outside of the school.

Of course, the food choices on campus are hardly inedible, and they have the definite advantage of convenience, but for a demographic of the poorest and hungriest people in the known world, they simply aren’t going to cut it.

It’s also worth noting that the talented and hard-working chefs, food preps, and service workers in the dining areas are not to blame for this Orwellian food prison. Instead, we, as students of CSUB, implore the curators of our dining services to consider this the time for a menu change.