One fewer independent business at Pitt

A university ought to be, among other things, a community: a unique collection of… A university ought to be, among other things, a community: a unique collection of personalities and identities, right down to the eateries on and around campus. It’s good for that community to have traditions, however small they may seem.

Pitt is letting the ax fall on one of those distinctive institutions come April, when Second Plate will be eliminated after 27 years in its niche in Posvar Hall. Replacing it will be the campus dining behemoth, Sodhexo. They will be operating an Einstein Bros. Bagels in place of the Second Plate.

Second Plate, unbeknownst to many students, is an independent, family-owned business, just the sort of industry that keeps communities vibrant. Einstein Bros. Bagels is a chain and so is Sodexho.

Pitt Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Robert Hill explains the change in terms of variety, claiming Einstein Bros. will offer more options.

How do bagel sandwiches constitute more options? Second Plate has bagels. It also has coffee and candy, and makes a mean tuna melt. “I Hate Mondays” brought rock-bottom prices for any size coffee, and “Cheese Hour” satisfied many a broke dairy fanatic’s grilled-cheese jones. Einstein Bros., while surely somewhat comparable, won’t offer more variety.

Part of the reason Second Plate lost its contract concerns dining dollars. It is unable to accept them, despite a desire to. Sodexho has exclusive rights to dining dollars.

Many students, when paying with dining dollars, are less likely to watch their bottom line than if actual greenbacks were leaving their pockets. If students had to pay with their own hard-earned cash, the hyper-inflated prices at Sodexho outlets such as Eddies’ and Schenley Cafe would keep them away in droves.

The same will apply at Einstein Bros. Prices will be unnaturally high to compensate for the dining dollar markup, but students will pay them anyway. The brand name and snazzy logo coupled with the use of dining dollars will lure students in, forming lines comparable to those at the Starbucks kiosk in the Cathedral basement between classes.

In a sad, predictable turn of events, Pitt is turning its back on a wonderful example of what small business can be, how it can affect a community and its regulars, in favor of giant, nameless corporations.