At the April 23 meeting, the Student Government Association (SGA) discussed problems with Trayless Tuesdays.
SGA members said the student body has been expressing concerns about Trayless Tuesdays and the inconvenience it causes.
"The average student cares if they have to carry extra things," Mike Peters, senator of Culture and Society, said. "It's just a hassle. They don't care that we're saving money."
In response, Joanna Hower from Sodexo/Dining Services sent an e-mail to the SGA subcommittee on student services, which was read aloud. In it, Hower said, "(Trayless Tuesdays) is not a big bad Sodexo trying to save money."
Hower explained that Sodexo does not save any money on Trayless Tuesdays since the company does not pay the water bill. She said only the College and the students benefit since the water bill would decrease. She also said students would have a heightened awareness of what they put on their plate, so food waste would be reduced.
According to Hower, in a two-hour period, workers scrape about 221 pounds of wasted food. On the last Trayless Tuesday, this amount was decreased by about 40 percent. Also, since R. Barbara Gitenstein, president of the College, asked for a "greener campus," this is something that has been requested by the College.
In response to the e-mail, SGA members gave feedback on how to improve Trayless Tuesdays and offered alternatives to it. Some suggestions included using biodegradable trays, being "trayless" only during lunch or breakfast or composting wasted food.
Other SGA members expressed issues they have with Sodexo. One member said it is unfair students have to use points at night when less food is available. Others were concerned with workers not using gloves when cooking the food and their impoliteness.
During the meeting, SGA announced it will be sponsoring a luau on May 5 on the Travers/Wolfe beach. There will be T-shirt tie-dying, hamburgers, hot dogs and free music. Eight other organizations will sponsor different activities.
