Editor's Column: Spirituality absent in cafeteria

Saint Joseph's University: "A Jesuit, Catholic university. . ." This statement is one of the most prominent claims made on the University's homepage. However, during the season of Lent, it is a widely known tradition that Catholics refrain from eating meat on Fridays. Walking into the Crimson and Gray Cafeterias or the Hawk's Nest last Friday, you would have found it difficult to tell that the Lenten season had dawned upon us at all.

Lunch provided the same options as usual: sandwiches and wraps full of meat, Mexican options, salads, pizza, and French fries. For the health conscious Catholic, it seems the only option here is a salad; and, even still, we're missing any sign of a complete protein. As a former vegetarian, I understand the struggle of searching for a balanced, vegetarian option for lunch here at St. Joe's, and I understand that I am in the minority, but during Lent, one would expect lunch to cater a little more strongly to those seeking salvation in the sacrifice of meat from their diet. "You would think they would try a little harder at a Catholic university," said Tim Fallon '09, when approached about the matter.

Mark Maher '08, a vegan, explained that he eats a menu of "rye bread, lettuce, and hot sauce," each day at lunch; and while he has mentioned this in countless e-mails to Aramark, "asking about options [he] may be missing," he has received no response, nor seen any changes, even during Lent. Maher also points out that the vegetarian options that were provided on both Ash Wednesday and the first Friday of Lent were carelessly prepared alongside meat products. "They fry the French fries [in the same oil as] the chicken," he observes, "and you get a veggie burger and they grill it right where they just had a regular burger." Even if you manage to find an option not containing meat, it's not likely to score points with a nutritionist. The cheese quesadillas, pizza, and breadsticks provide virtually no nourishment, and simply fill students up with empty calories. Eliminating nutrition is not the idea behind the spiritual sacrifices of Lent.

Perhaps the biggest irony of the situation is that signs hung along the pillars on the first floor of Campion reminding students that it was in fact a Friday during Lent. Clearly aware of the implications of the season, Aramark "should have made a more conscious effort to provide non-meat meals for lunch," elucidates Josh Reda, '07. "I may have missed the non-meat meals, but I felt very limited, especially during lunch on what I could eat," Reda said. "I was kind of looking for a more complete meal." During Friday's dinner, Reda was faced with the same problem when Aramark served up only one non-meat dish, baked tilapia, along with the usual pasta and salad bars for those choosing to neglect meat. "I'm sure they made an effort to provide at least some stuff, but again it wasn't noticeable from the things they have all the time so overall, I had a hard time finding something I liked that was healthy," he explains

Though, it's important not to entirely eliminate meat from Friday's menus, as around 20 percent of our students are not Catholic, a Jesuit university should be expected to make holding to Lenten traditions a little more feasible. "You can't dictate what others eat," explained Phil Florio, S.J., Special Assistant to the Vice President, "but we should demonstrate through our alms giving, prayer, and fasting," the spiritual values of the season.