Small Businesses and Food

¶ … parking spot? For many of us at Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC), the daily commute is a grind, and when it ends in us having to drive around in circles just to find a space, our energy is diverted from classes. We need improved parking, but there are also two other major issues I would change about BRCC. One is the quality of the food in the campus facilities.

A lot of students are trying to eat healthier or lose weight, and even for those who are not on diets, the food options are bleak. We have easy access to vending machines selling junk food and sugary drinks, but no options for healthy home cooked food. Therefore, I believe we should allow third party food trucks and third party vendors that can sell healthier foods. Finally, the restrooms on campus leave a lot to be desired.

Some have toilet paper that would be considered poor by prison standards, and others seem like they are only cleaned once per week, if that. The three things I would like to change at BRCC include the parking, the food, and the bathrooms. The parking at BRCC is inadequate to account for the number of students and staff on campus. Inadequate parking is a common campus grievance (Burr, n.d.). Perhaps the parking lots were once big enough, but our school has grown and expanded.

The current system is also cumbersome, requiring students to receive a permit and register their vehicles ("Parking Permits and IDs"). I believe we need to have a dedicated lot only for guests, because the guest spots are taking up room in the lots that are otherwise reserved for the students and faculty. In lieu of expanding the lots themselves, BRCC could offer a park and ride system so that students can leave their cars in a safe place off campus and take a shuttle to class.

Alternatively we could have a free valet parking system for all students, paid for by the city of Baton Rouge. In addition to the parking situation, I would also change the dining options at BRCC. Without a proper dining hall, students often resort to eating junk food or fast food on campus. I believe many students who are trying to lose weight cannot achieve their goals because they have no options for healthy eating.

It can be frustrating to work hard only to find that when we are hungry between classes, our only options for snacking are chips from a machine. Therefore, I strongly recommend partnering with local entrepreneurs and small businesses to allow for food trucks on campus. The food trucks do not require any changes to the existing campus buildings, and do not require the school to pass any health inspections because the onus would be on the food vendors.

Food trucks are also good ways to introduce business students to local entrepreneurs (Delgado, 2012). In addition to improving the food and parking options on the BRCC campus, I would also improve the cleanliness and comfort of the bathrooms. Many students have noticed that the bathrooms vary in terms of cleanliness from building to building. Some bathrooms are cleaner than others, but all have terrible toilet paper that is a running joke among students.

Furthermore, "a student body can't reach its full potential if everyone is busy scratching his or her raw behind all day," (Moosher, 2015). My proposal is to renovate all the bathrooms so that they are modernized and fresh, while also hiring additional cleaning staff to maintain the bathrooms at their new clean standards. A new paper vendor and soap vendor would be necessary, because students want to show up for class feeling fresh, not smelling like we just used hospital soap. If these.