Get Ready for a Sicker Campus

Why Lax Oversight and Declining Vaccination Rates Threaten Student Well-being

Recently, I attended a workshop on a college campus, which included lunch in the dining hall. Over my decades of living and working on campus, I have been subjected to “dining hall food” more times than I can reasonably quantify. I have strong opinions about what constitutes quality options, operational efficiencies, and where campuses can make bigger leaps in student satisfaction. These considerations, however, are not the focus of this newsletter. Rather, I think it’s time for us to realize that campus dining halls may soon become the epicenter of sicker campuses. Let’s consider these realities:

Governmental cuts to oversight and inspection.

Cuts to food safety oversight reduce the ability to detect, respond to, and prevent outbreaks. In a recent article in The Atlantic, the risks to food safety are shown to be increasing dramatically. At the center of it all: bagged lettuce. In the article, food-safety lawyer Bill Marler states: “Buying a head of romaine lettuce is like taking a bath with your significant other; buying a bag of romaine lettuce is like swimming in a swimming pool in Las Vegas.” When I read this, I nearly passed out. As I eyed the salad bar on campus during the workshop, I couldn’t help but recall the article.