Hickey food isn’t that bad

Compared to other places, our dining hall is decent

The Hickey isn’t that bad. There, I said it.
With every new school year comes the same song and dance of complaints from new students and returners alike.
“The Hickey is terrible.”
“There’s nothing to eat here.”
“We pay for this?”
The list goes on. The complaints get so bad that they make it back to students’ homes and parents, who of course do what any other parent would do, go straight for the Parents & Families of St. Bonaventure University Facebook page.
“Is anybody else’s child having a hard time finding things to eat in the dining hall?”
“My child says they are getting sick from the dining hall food.”
Well, ma’am, it’s funny your child complained of getting sick the day after the OP was promoting their $5 fishbowls. Maybe, just maybe, there’s some sort of correlation.
For a new student, or anyone used to home cooking, going back to college and being held to few options for on-campus dining can be difficult.
The reality of the matter is, the Hickey isn’t as bad as people make it out to be.
It’s not five-star dining, but compared to other places, the Hickey is borderline gourmet.
I spent my summer interning in Colorado. I won’t disclose exactly where I worked because it may deter people from ever going there. While there, I lived, worked and ate nearly every meal in the same place. For anyone considering ever doing that–don’t. It’s an easy way to lose your mind.
To put it nicely, the food my internship provided was probably similar, if not worse, than what’s served in most prisons across the country. For an entire 12-and-a-half weeks I ate plain quinoa, undercooked chicken and oatmeal that had more water in it than the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, this place managed to mess up oatmeal.
The pop machines were broken nearly every day. When looking for cranberry juice, I was usually surprised by a quick burst of juice followed by nothing but water.
The only treat of eating there came a few times a week when they served freezer-burnt ice cream sandwiches. The dining hall setting was exceptionally foul as well.
Here at the Hickey, we have a fancy carousel you put your dirty dishes on and in no time, they’re out of sight. My internship provider didn’t have this. Instead, dishes and utensils were stacked in plastic bins until a brave volunteer from the kitchen would come out and take them away.
You know what they say—you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Based off my summer dining experience, that statement couldn’t be any truer. I missed the Hickey every single day. While I agitatedly moved sour mashed potatoes around my plate, I dreamt of being swiped in by Sandy, only to say hi to Snake and have Julie make me pasta. I never missed anything more than I missed the Hickey this summer.
I understand St. Bonaventure isn’t like other schools when it comes to dining experiences. I was at UMass two springs ago and was astonished to find they had live jazz bands performing during the lunch hour in their dining hall. Other schools have better food options, sure. But while you’re here for four years, don’t forget that the food you’re eating in the Hickey could be worse. A lot worse.