Student disillusioned with WU cafeteria

By Matthew Abraham

Guest columnist

When I pay $1225 for something, I expect it to have certain qualities, one of which is cleanliness.

The type of sanitary issues at Thomson Cafeteria that have come to my attention during my college career is unprecedented. Winthrop University is supposed to be home away from home for many college students. Well, does the kitchen at your house prepare food in an environment infested with cockroaches? I think not.

Cockroaches are known to live in filth and spread diseases with their legs. According to aerias.org, cockroach feces contain many diseases, such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. Cockroaches can even trigger allergic reactions in humans and have been known to cause asthma.

The reason I have stated the danger of having cockroaches around human beings is because I have discovered several instances in which cockroaches have been sighted in Thomson Cafeteria.

• Sept. 13, 2010 at 4:19pm, Jonathon Willis, a sophomore Winthrop student, saw a very large cockroach on a wall in Thomson Cafeteria.
• Sept. 23, 2010 Brittany Serago, a freshman Winthrop student saw a cockroach climbing up a wall in Thomson Cafeteria.
• Oct. 2, 2010, 6:07pm, I found a dead cockroach under a drink dispenser in Thomson Cafeteria.

In my opinion Thomson Cafeteria has a cockroach problem. Inadequately cleaning dirty dishes causes this problem. According to aerias.org cockroaches are attracted to dirty dishes. Recently two students have complained about the cleanliness of the dishes at Thomson Cafeteria on Sept. 24, 2010 and Sept. 26, 2010. 

 Thomson received an 89 out of 100 on a recent South Carolina Department of Health Services and Environmental Control inspection but the report did not mention anything about cockroaches. 

 Although Thomson Cafeteria workers claim they clean the plates thoroughly, they do not deny the existence of dirty dishes.  

One comment card posted in the cafteria says, in response to a student complaint, “Sorry if you have found some (dishes) dirty.” 

Another comment card claims the employees will “watch out better” for dirty dishes but I do not buy it. 

A comment on the DHEC report stated dishes were being stored on the floor. 

I am not trying to be Upton Sinclair, but I think there are serious sanitation violations frequently occuring in Thomson Cafeteria. These violations need not occur anywhere, especially in the place we eat.