ASWSU questions costs for University Catering

When student organizations need food for their events, they call University Catering.

Sean Greene, the director of the Compton Union Building (CUB), spoke Wednesday before the ASWSU Senate to discuss concerns about the cost and availability of catering services.

“The average student groups don’t know the food services available to them,” Greene said.

He said the CUB plans to expand its presence throughout the WSU community through various marketing strategies. He hoped students understand why University Catering can be pricy in comparison to other food options.

“Over 40 catering services happen outside of the CUB,” Greene said.

Student groups are eligible for a 20 percent discount on catering services. 

Sen. Dakota Renz asked Greene whether the CUB would lower costs of catering services.

“While oftentimes the 20 percent discount is significant…it makes it very difficult to be price-competitive,” Greene said. “We are competitive when it comes to big events.”

The WSU administration implements a fee that affects University Catering, and every dollar that University Dining brings in results in a 10 percent charge.

This charge, along with catering services’ refusal to allow groups to fund or supplement catering services with RDA, is another reason for the high costs, Greene said.

The CUB’s management does not feel comfortable utilizing funds from Services and Activities Fees, he said.

Sen. Jacob Montano said some student groups prefer to hold events in the CUB Senior Ballroom, but are prevented from doing so because they want a type of food that isn’t available. Events held in the CUB are required to serve food prepared exclusively by University Catering.

Greene said University Dining is more than willing to take suggestions when preparing dishes for student-organized events.

“We do want to be flexible with a lot of student groups,” he said.

ASWSU Senate Chair Kevin Massimino said he was pleased with Greene’s cooperation in discussing catering service issues, which stemmed from a #DearWSU tweet. The social media campaign works to solicit suggestions from students for university improvement.

“It was a great chance for the senate to get that understanding, and hopefully with the information, we’ll be able to distribute it to the students,” Massimino said.