Students who frequent the Sidney Smith cafeteria already know that free seats are hard to come by, and the crowding may be about to get worse. If a planned expansion of Tim Hortons goes ahead, the room will lose a sizable chunk of seating space and its microwave area. The expansion has been proposed by U of T’s food service contractor, Aramark, who say that the donut kiosk is too small to work effectively and has to either grow or go. The expanded Tim Hortons would bake on-site and boast a larger menu.
For Arts and Science Students’ Union president Ryan Hayes, the expansion is part of a growing trend at U of T of privatizing student space and handing food services over to corporate chains.
“This bland corporate cafeteria is a case-in-point of the lack of community on campus. Tim Hortons is not the answer,” said Hayes.
ASSU is planning an “eat-in” for Thursday from 12 to 3 p.m. to protest the expansion. According to Hayes, the free potluck aims to bring healthy food and a sense of community to the food court.
Anne MacDonald, the director of U of T’s Ancillary Services department, which oversees food service operations, said she believes the majority of U of T students would support the expansion. “If the students really don’t want the Tim Hortons in [Sidney Smith] then we won’t have one,” said MacDonald. “There are thousands of students who use that outlet every day,” she added.
Responding to student unions’ demand for more student-run food outlets, MacDonald said that student operations typically require more supervision of their food safety and employee treatment practices.
Michal Hay, UTSU’s VP university affairs, disagreed. “My understanding [is that] the student-run operations both treat their employees better and pay them a decent wage,” she said.
“I think what’s most egregious about the Tim Hortons expansion is that they’re taking over lounge space and the microwave area in the cafeteria,” said Dave Scrivener UTSU VP external. ASSU has launched an online petition that, at press time, had garnered 146 signatures. As well as stopping the Tim Hortons expansion, the petition asks the university to commit to providing healthy, diverse, and affordable food options, including halal, kosher and vegan food, and to paying higher wages to food workers.
The group is also campaigning to restore student control over the cafeteria.
“I think also what needs to be remembered is that less than a decade ago that space was actually a student-run pub,” Scrivener said.
Until August 2001, the cafeteria was known as “The Hangar” and was operated by the Students Administrative Council (now UTSU). The university took control after SAC had its liquor license suspended by the province in a debacle involving serving alcohol to minors. Is bringing back The Hangar realistic?
“Not for Sid Smith, no,” said MacDonald, pointing to Aramark’s exclusive contract for the space.
Both ASSU And UTSU have said they want to organize students against Aramark in the hopes that U of T will drop the food provider when their contract expires. Hayes said he wants to see campus food service turned over to the students themselves, pointing to student-run outlets like the Hot Yam and Diabolos’ as models.
“As the people who use them, students have to decide how student services and student spaces are run,” he said.
