On Wednesday April 3, the Student Activities Committee at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) listened to the presentations of potential food vendor candidates at Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH). The food vendor candidates may bring their services to the students of Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) in the upcoming fall semester.

Information regarding the presentations and the food vendors’ identity is confidential. According to committee member and president of FCLC’s United Student Government (USG) Alexa Rodriguez, FCLC ’13, details surrounding the presentation is confidential because of the committee’s lack of information. “It is confidential because there we still don’t have too much information about the vendors. Most of the information we heard at the presentation, we [the committee] have not really discussed as a group yet,” she said. “Right now, there isn’t too much information we can give out to students.”

President of the Resident Hall Association (RHA) and committee member Aisha Blake, FCLC ’13, stated that several vendors presented to the committee. “The two food vendors were very different from one another, but both seemed very well prepared and are great candidates,” she said. “We [the committee] still have more to discuss about it.”

The Students Activities Committee will announce whether the food vendor will change by April 15. But before the decision is made, the committee still has much deliberation ahead before announcing the new vendor. According to Rodriguez, “We [the committee] have more meetings scheduled–until then, I don’t know what things are going to look like. As a group, we have to discuss the presentation, the site visits–that’s part of the reason it’s confidential,” she said.

In addition, the committee still has to see the opinions of the Student Activities Committee at FCRH, as well as the students at FCLC, of Fordham’s overall dining services. “We [the committee] still have to talk with everyone and see what they think. In addition, we also have the survey out, as well as the topics discussed at the forum; those pieces of information will certainly influence the decision of who the new food vendor is,” Rodriguez said.

President of the Commuter Students Association (CSA) and committee member Melissa Gazal, FCLC ’14, found the presentations especially helpful in showing what foods and options students want potentially changed at Fordham. “The presentations were especially helpful: we got to see the candidates present information, and how they could potentially affect and help Fordham,” she said. “We [the committee] are just looking for what can benefit and serve the FCLC community.”

Like Gazal, Rodriguez is enthusiastic about the vendors’ potential affects at FCLC. “It is good to know what vendors are saying, and what they are proposing for this campus. I think it is really helpful, and I am excited to look at the sites; it’s going to be interesting how they work at other schools, and how they would work at ours,” she said. “If they [the vendors’ sites] have a similar vibe, then I think they’d be a good fit.”

According to Rodriguez, the committee will work closely in order to make the best decision for the Fordham community. “Getting as much information is really important; this is such an important decision. We want to make sure that it’s a good decision for us as a school and as a community,” she said. “Fordham is not only a place where students go to school–it’s also where they eat. The food on campus is a huge part of our lives.”

The committee is ultimately looking for a long-term relationship with the food vendor serving FCLC. “Regardless of whether we keep Red Mango or Energy Kitchen, we [the committee] will continue to work with them [the vendor]. Whatever changes students want, we are going to advocate to put them in place,” she said. “We are going to establish a long-term relationship with whichever vendor we choose. All of the vendors understand the role of food on campus, and are very interested in serving the students’ interests.”