University of Virginia Library

Hurrah For Food Services

Most people who have never had any
connection with a newspaper often find
themselves berating the media for never
putting in a positive word for someone's
constructive efforts and spending too much
time libelling public figures up and down their
pages or on the television screens. We hope
that some of the critics will find this
well-deserved praise for Bernard Fontana,
Director of Food Services, a bit of a relief.

Not too many students sing paeans of
praise for the directors and employees of
Food Services; in fact, they are more likely to
be the objects of considerable derisive joking
and outright indignation. Their actions of last
week in approving eight major changes
suggested by the Student Council Food
Services Committee shows us that they have
not closed their ears to students' requests and
that they are determined to serve the
University community to the best of their
ability.

The changes will give the Castle and the
Glass Hat longer hours of operation, addition
of popular items to the menus, a wider variety
of food for the vending machines, clocks in
the Open Square, longer hours for the
Contract Cafeteria, and a proviso for the
purchasing of an ice machine to serve the
dormitory residents. While these
improvements may not seem to be earth
shattering to members of the community who
do not rely on Food Services, they are
important to many students, especially those
in the first-year class.

Too often students in positions of
leadership have been frustrated by their
inability to have some administrators step out
of their way for accommodating student
requests even when those requests are
completely rational. We are happy to say that
Mr. Fontana is not one of these people, even
though one might think that all of the
criticism that has, in the past, been leveled at
his staff could have closed his mind to
students.

Other administrators would do well to
take a lesson from Mr. Fontana in keeping an
open mind towards students and students
might learn something from Michael Flock
and his members of the Food Services
Committee on how to get things done.