Committee to create food chain list today

The Golden Arches have one last chance to don Read Center.\nAlthough Residential Programs and Services will not pursue a new contract with McDonald's at this time, the food chain might still have an opportunity to keep its spot on campus.\nThis afternoon, the IU Meal Plan Committee will meet to compile student feedback and create a list of which food chains it will recommend to allow to bid on a contract for the Read Center location currently occupied by McDonald's.\nFor McDonald's to stay on campus, it will have to start from the beginning of the process. It will first have to be on the list of recommendations, then make a bid in 90 days and be approved by RPS.\nBut the student and RPS representatives who make up the Meal Plan Committee say the recommendation will be driven primarily by student feedback. \n"If (student) interest is in a sub sandwich place, obviously McDonald's wouldn't be a part of that list," said Sam Scarpino, the chairman of the Meal Plan Committee and a vice president of the Residence Halls Association.\nBarring any "roadblocks in the discussion," the committee hopes to have the list finished in one meeting, Scarpino said. The committee will then give the list to RPS officials to consider as they bid out the contract. Companies will then have 90 days to respond with an offer, Scarpino said.\nThe presidents of each residence hall have been receiving student feedback for weeks and have reported that students seem to want a restaurant with a "variety of menu, long hours, cheap prices and quick service," according to Anna Saraceno, president of Collins Living-Learning Center. Saraceno thinks many of the students she has talked to like the idea of keeping McDonald's because it meets these criteria and because it's "well-established and reliable." Students at Wright Quad feel the same way, Scarpino said.\nOther residence hall presidents, however, have not received the same feedback. \n"I think that students who have been here for a while want to see something new and coming from a freshman residence hall, I have to admit that (those) students are (also) for the most part looking for something new," said Matt Jarson, president of Foster Quad.\nRyan Laughner, president of Read Center, had McDonald's representatives speak to his board of governors, and noticed the same type of feedback. He said the governors wanted something more "healthy and balanced" and considered a variety of things from Boston Market to Mexican food.\n"It's not that we hate McDonald's, it's that we want to see what other options are out there," he said.\nLaughner also said that he's certain McDonald's will at least have the opportunity to place a bid on a new contract.\nScarpino said he's unsure what will happen when they create the list.\n"From the impression I'm getting, the majority of students are looking for something different ... but there's still student interest in McDonald's," he said. "It wouldn't surprise me if the list was formulated so McDonald's could still bid on it"