Popular late-night dining option on Pitzer College’s campus, The Shakedown Café, announced on Oct. 20 that Pomona students will no longer be able to use a meal swipe at the establishment. Previously, all 5C students were able to use a standard meal swipe to pay for food at The Shakedown.
Pomona College made the decision and said in email correspondence with TSL that “crossover meals” are only meant to be used at 5C dining halls during standard meal times.
“Recently, we learned that some dining locations outside of these times, like retail shops on other campuses, have been accepting crossover swipes,” Chief Communications Officer Eric Abelev wrote on behalf of Pomona. “To align with our original dining policy, crossover meals will now be accepted only during official dining hall meal periods at 5C dining halls.”
Miguel Menjivar, Pitzer College dining services general manager, said that he received a note from Pomona notifying him of the change; however, he did not have input in the decision as meal swipe policies are determined by school administration.
“Shakedown has always been a small, extra place where people who either get out of classes late or get out of their practices late can still go and use their [swipe] to have a full meal,” Menjivar said.
Wade Lawson PO ’25 said he feels both disappointed and frustrated with the decision as an athlete who relies on The Shakedown for late meals.
“A lot of times, with practice and stuff, we don’t have the option to get full meals at the dining halls, so we rely on things like Shakedown to get an ample amount of food,” Lawson said.
Lawson said many other athletes share a similar frustration with the decision and are struggling to find alternative dining options.
The Coop Fountain, Pomona College’s campus cafe, only accepts meal equivalency from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. During later hours, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., only Flex Dollars (also known as Board Plus Dollars) are accepted.
“It’s hard to want to spend $10 on an entrée at the Coop Fountain when I would get less food than I was getting at Shakedown and I wasn’t even having to spend Flex,” Lawson said.
Ben Fox PZ ’28 said that he understands the upset among Pomona students by the news, as they lose a late-night dining option.
“I feel like I want to be able to use a meal swipe at the Shakedown whenever, because that’s our only late-night option,” Fox said. “Especially because people have classes or sports which prevent them from going to the meal at the normal time.”
“I feel like I want to be able to use a meal swipe at the Shakedown whenever, because that’s our only late-night option,” Fox said. “Especially because people have classes or sports which prevent them from going to the meal at the normal time.”
Fox said that places on campus such as The Hub Grill at Claremont McKenna College have similar policies that only allow their students to use a substituting meal swipe to pay.
“At the same time, I think that Pomona students still have three options a day for meals and two options during the weekend, and I don’t think it’s a huge loss,” Fox said.
According to Menjivar, Pomona students only account for around 20 to 30 of the couple hundred “swipes” they get per night, most of which are athletes. He said that although business at The Shakedown has remained steady since the change was implemented, as the semester goes on, students will begin to run out of Flex.
Though this change will likely decrease the number of Pomona students eating at The Shakedown, Menjivar said he still hopes to see students from the college at the café.
“I’m always happy to welcome people from other places too,” he said. “I really enjoy seeing people that I don’t really know at the door.”
Looking forward, Lawson said that he will have to assess how he can have full meals during the week in the absence of The Shakedown.
“Now I have to plan ahead and think about what I’m going to do with every meal, and I’m going to have to meal prep more than I thought I would with having a dining hall plan,” he said.
Lawson said that with a lack of adaptations to the Coop Fountain’s menu or meal equivalency, many Pomona students feel disappointed by the loss of dining options.
“Instead of limiting our students, if we really want people to go to the Coop Fountain, I think we should be promoting things at the Coop Fountain, instead of taking away stuff that has become a quintessential part of your college experience,” Lawson said.
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