OPINION & EDITORIAL
Groceries? Try governing first
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by Letters to the Editor
Thursday, September 20, 2007
It's always fun hearing the ideas concocted by the Associated Students of Madison. In my afternoon perusal of my e-mail Tuesday, I found out that their latest idea is to start a campus grocery store. I can just imagine.
First, ASM probably immediately hires a women’s liaison, a student of color liaison, an LGBT liaison and an LGBT of color liaison to set all sorts of hiring and marketing quotas. Once ASM hires associates according to these quotas, the staff will likely start at around $20 an hour — have to pay living wages, right?
Whoever gets put in charge of supply chain management will likely have strict orders to only buy food produced from local, organic farmers who pay living wages to their workers. They probably will not offer milk or any other dairy products, since everyone agrees that methane from cow flatulence contributes to global warming. Students lucky enough to find groceries meeting all these criteria will only be able to carry them home in reusable non-bleached cloth bags.
After all this, if ASM can still provide cheap, accessible groceries and bring in customers, all the revenue will mysteriously disappear and SSFC won’t care about it. Or, it will go to pay for “travel expenses” for grocery store staff who don’t really do anything, yet need to attend crucial seminars in Florida and Arizona.
Oh, and to answer the original question ASM posed in big bold letters, yes, we do “got” cheap, accessible groceries. It’s called Woodman’s.
ASM should stick to what they do best, which is… well, just about nothing.
Mark Baumgardner
B.S. Electrical Engineering 2005
UW Continuing student
mbaumgardner@wisc.edu
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 6:11am):
Woo-Hoo! Mark is Back!
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 8:48am):
Not everyone is a grad student like you and has a car. In case you didn't see those 40,000 students WALKING to class.
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 9:50am):
IF you didn't bring a car to Madison, that was poor planning on YOUR part. There is plenty of parking in most madison neighborhoods for the reasonable price of $21 a YEAR.
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 10:14am):
You know, Mark, for an obnoxious free-market capitalist you're sure having a hard time finding a real job. Maybe the market has decided you're an unemployable buffoon?
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 10:25am):
what neighborhood do you live in? Allied Drive?
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 10:57am):
I live near the stadium, and have never had any problem finding a parking spot. God Bless the residential parking permit. Best deal in madison. Anyway, Madison is not some big city, where we have to take buses and cabs everywhere, there is plenty of parking, so drive to Copps. We don't need some cute little shop on every corner by the dorms. No way is there enough of a market down there. Even if a lot of people made the mistake of living in the dorms, and didn't bring a car, I am sure everyone knows someone who does have a car; who can give them a ride to a real grocery store 2 miles away so they can pay a reasonable price.
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 11:25am):
Wow, Mark! This has got to be your best yet!
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 11:28am):
Plenty of parking? They issue more permits than there are spots! Cap Center is okay for groceries, but I don't think a student-run grocery store is necessarily a bad idea.
Either way, hilarious.
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 12:47pm):
The last 9 months on campus (continuous) included weekly small trips to Cap Foods - on a bike or or bus, or plain walking - to get groceries. It aint that hard.
Last I checked they had delivery service as well. What could you possibly be complaining about needing a car for food for other than you simply haven't put the effort into looking for solutions?
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 1:14pm):
I don't have a car either. Ever see those big, square things with wheels that zip all over the city? People can ride those!
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 1:14pm):
Not everyone can afford to have a car in Madison.
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 1:54pm):
Why so much hostility toward minority hires? The only people who complain about these hires are those who aren't qualified to ensure themselves of a job and then pout their way through life. I'm guessing that's what happened to you.
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 3:59pm):
Hey remember when ASM was going to start a text book rental program...guess they couldn't figure that one out, what makes them think they can run a grocery store...how funny!
Anonymous (September 20, 2007 @ 10:27pm):
How about a Wal-Mart supercenter on campus?
Anonymous (September 26, 2007 @ 12:48pm):
Way to blow an issue entirely out of proportion, then use flawed logic to support it. This is racist and ignorant.
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