I visit the Coop Store almost every day. Conveniently located, staffed, and managed by an extraordinarily friendly subset of the Pomona College community, and selling delicious and nutritious (well, at least, delicious) items for “fake” money, it satisfies my snacking needs. Aside from the markup on food, I have no complaints about the Coop Store.
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Yet apparently, the ASPC Senate finds the Coop Store extremely inadequate. So inadequate that it cannot be fixed without a substantial injection of cash—the estimates range from $60,000 to $100,000.
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My question is: what exactly is the problem with the Coop Store? It sells food to college students and clothing to their parents. Will a massive investment of ASPC money—that is, your student fees—provide an increase in revenue or an increase in convenience that could justify the price of the renovation?
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Frankly, I can think of a number of other uses for my student fees that would have a larger impact on my daily life. For example, my major problem with the Coop Store is not with the layout, the lighting, or the type of tile on the floor, but with the markup on food that the store charges. If we have $100,000 to burn, why don’t we slash food prices and increase the Coop Store subsidy? Cheaper food and drinks would more directly improve the typical student’s life than sweatshirts at the front of the Coop Store or a new register location.
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Alternatively, we could use our reserves to meet a greater percentage of the funding requests for Pomona’s clubs and organizations, which typically receive only a fraction of what they ask for. A third option would be to simply reduce student fees. If we have about $500,000 in reserves, why are student fees still rising? I would rather have the extra money in my pocket than a renovated Coop Store, and I’m sure that there are plenty of students who would agree.
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The process by which this decision was made should also be reviewed. Major investment decisions by the ASPC Senate should not be made without substantial time for student consideration and input. I doubt that many students knew that the issue was even up for debate; I certainly did not until after the decision had been made. Obviously, the ASPC cannot function if all their decisions are thoroughly debated and scrutinized by the entire student body. After all, that’s why we delegate considerable responsibility to our representatives.
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For decisions of this magnitude, however, the student body needs to have a voice. Public comments are accepted at Senate meetings, but only after business is completed. At the appropriate meeting for commentary on the renovation project, the normally scheduled agenda took the entire time allotted. Furthermore, I doubt that most students knew enough about the proposal in order to form an opinion—or even that any student can comment at Senate meetings. If there was a public dialogue about the decision to renovate the Coop Store, it operated below the radar.
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The decision to renovate the Coop Store may be irreversible. In the end, it may turn out to be right. The Pomona student body may even consider the renovations a good use of their money. But by failing to engage directly with the students at large, the Senate will never know what our collective voice would have said about it.