Last week, The Hoya reported that O’Donovan Hall was cited with seven violations by the District of Columbia Department of Health in an October report (Nov. 14, 2008, A1). To put this figure in perspective, consider this: Since Leo’s opened in 2003, this is the highest number of violations it has ever received in one year for which statistics are available. In light of early October’s norovirus outbreak, we think that this raises serious questions about Georgetown’s choice of ARAMARK to manage campus dining.Cleanliness and safety standards in college dining halls should always be set high. In light of the recent outbreak, however, we feel that extra diligence in this regard is imperative. While we appreciate the superficial changes that Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Margie Bryant and ARAMARK implemented in Leo’s this year, ARAMARK’s performance leaves much to be desired. Georgetown can and must do better.In response to the Department of Health report, Andrew Lindquist, ARAMARK’s executive director of campus dining services, said, “We do not receive any notification as to when [health inspectors] will arrive or how often they will inspect the facility.”For the sake of every student with a meal plan, we are relieved to know that Lindquist doesn’t get a memo warning him when the Department of Health is coming. The point of a health inspection is to observe normal conditions; the results are worthless if the subject of the inspections has a chance to prepare. If you can’t take the heat, Mr. Lindquist, we suggest that you stay out of the kitchen.While it may be tempting to blame the Leo’s staff for this oversight, we would instead like to thank the staff for the tireless work they do on a daily basis. The employees who garnish the salad bar and clean the plates are among the hardest working on the Hilltop. Their work ethic has been unwavering over the years, under the management of both the Marriott Corporation and ARAMARK.But we do have serious reservations about ARAMARK’s management, and the health violations are not the only issue. Leo’s has developed an unfortunate reputation for running out of popular entrées in the early moments of the dinner rush, for leaving too many cup and cutlery dispensers empty and for arranging tables on the upper level so there is little space to maneuver.At the end of the day, ARAMARK is a company that Georgetown hires to run the dining hall. And for about $13 per meal, it is hardly underpaid for its efforts. Everyone deserves a grace period to get their bearings, but after a year and a half of mediocrity, this grace period has expired.anagement needs to answer some of these questions in the coming weeks. As we suggested at the outset, most of the problems at Leo’s can be traced back to ARAMARK. Workers follow standard operating procedures that are designed by management. Since these problems continue to resurface again and again, we strongly suspect that this is a case of flawed procedures and poor management.If this were a business school project, the professor might ask the struggling project team, “Why shouldn’t I fire you?” We would like to pose the same question to the Office of Auxiliary Services and ARAMARK.
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