Want to grab a snack on campus? You may as well head to a Michelin star restaurant. Need to buy a pair of earbuds at Connections? You would think they are designer made. The college is an institution not a business. Prices need to come down to reflect that.
That can of pop that costs me over $3 at the cafeteria is sold for $2 at a third party vendor. I could get the same $10 earbuds for a tenth of the price at the dollar store. Why does our college feel the need to amplify the price tags by these margins?
Looking at food services in particular makes me irritated. Savoir Faire is supplied by culinary students that pay tuition to prepare the food and there is a sole employee running the cash at all times. You cannot persuade me into thinking that the price of that piece of cake covers only the cashier’s wage and the cost of the ingredients; even the cost of the utility bills.
To me, the necessities sold at Connections – such as SD cards and memory sticks – are given a price that screams taking advantage of someone that has no other means of getting hold of those items.
I think there’s a reason the line up at Tim Hortons is so long most of the time. Those customers are not getting tricked and neither am I. The college’s profit margins are daylight robbery.