Today was one of those days that just don’t fit in anywhere on a calendar. Snowy rain, some sun, cloudy skies and a mild chill served as the backdrop for the bustle of this big city.
I sit here at the Arbor Room as I have done on so many occasions over the past couple of years, relishing in the taste and aroma of fair trade coffee, working away to the sound of La Vie en Rose.
I watch as students fit a visit to this quaint, dimly lit café into their schedule in a way that’s uniquely theirs. Some sit alone in a whirlwind of ideas, writing furiously, others swing by after a workout for a brief chat with friends before rushing to class. I see professors, students and visiting alumni discussing philosophy, the economy, and physics.
If the Arbor Room has come to mean so much to me in my short time at U of T, it has surely found a place in the hearts of countless others over the years. It is one of the few places on campus with a personality that radiates in contrast to the bland homogenized cafeterias that litter the university. The Arbor Room has an ambiance that inspires and unites some of the brightest minds in the country, and offers students a chance to taste a sweet though fleeting calmness in the mayhem of university life.
What is the value of an institution that enriches the student experience for so many? How much priority should be given to maintaining and developing it if it breathes warmth and life into an otherwise large and impersonal university?
While I can answer these questions with a passionate plea in support of the Arbor Room, tradition, and culture, in doing so, am I failing to take into account the bottom line? After all, the Arbor Room is a business, and one that has not once in its 51 years of operation turned a profit, despite recent renovations and experiments.
But looking at the facts and figures does not convince me that it’s only reasonable and good business sense to seek an alternative food supplier. Instead I’m only further outraged by the decision to close down the Arbor Room. It’s inconceivable to me how in a university with such vast intellectual resources, a business that is central to campus life could be neglected to the point that it sustains losses for 51 years. While there have been a few changes made recently, it is too little too late, and is an attempt that I find kind of insulting. To me, it looks like an attempt that would allow them to say, “Hey, at least we tried.”
I would like to appeal to the Board of Stewards and ask them not to see the petition of thousands of students as a plea based on passion without reason. I ask them to see it as proof that the Arbor Room is not a liability, but rather one of the university’s great assets. I ask that they give the Arbor Room a fair shot and create a new business plan that generates a profit reflective of its value, while keeping its spirit intact. And finally, I would like to point out that it is not only their responsibility to consult the wider student body in a decision of this magnitude, but that it is also in their interest.
I look around and it’s obvious that if Hart House is the cultural centre of the university, the Arbor Room is the beating heart. And as I savour my final drops of coffee, I realize why my visit here was different tonight. It seems that comfort only comes with the trust that which one has built a history with, also has a future. It’s time to go but it’s still pretty rough outside. It’s hard to ignore the weather at U of T… at least I brought my umbrella.
-MICKAL ARANHA
Strictly (bad) business
While many consider the Arbor Room an institution on campus, the bottom line is that it is a business with a bottom line of its own.
Hart House has been running it at massive losses, despite hiring an advisor and introducing a long list of changes that were intended to make the situation better. These changes have not yielded sufficient results, however, and so it only makes sense that the Arbor Room should close.
Though many complain about the closure on the grounds that student fees go to Hart House to run such ventures, I personally support the closure for the very same reason. I do not care to have my money invested in a sinking ship of an enterprise- even more so when that same funding could be diverted to better and more sustainable causes elsewhere in Hart House.
It does not make sense to run an unprofitable business because of job losses. Besides, all of the Arbor Room’s unionized workers will be placed in other positions at the university. It is the high wages paid to these workers in the first place that has played a major role in the losses. Raising prices to correct this is not feasible at a student-oriented eatery whose snacks are not cheap in the first place.
While I understand the good intentions of those who want to see food service workers make more money, wages have to be reasonable if an establishment is to compete. Wages must be fair and applicable to a given industry, without being so ridiculously high that business is no longer viable.
Even if Sodexho were to run the food services in the Arbor Room, it could still maintain much of its current charm. The space could still be used for performances as it is so frequently at present, even if the vendor of the food and drink was different. Given that the Arbor Room just simply cannot stay open because it can not profit, one might as well accept it and realize that it is not such a big deal.
-KERRI SIVEC
