SGA Discusses Improvements to Parking and Gourmet Dining

Campus security completes information gathering, and Gourmet plans to rework the menu.

The table that Marist Campus Safety presented to SGA as part of its presentation contains percentages indicating how full the parking lot was for that given day of the week. Table courtesy Daniel Gough

The Marist College Student Government Association has two major hurdles to tackle — parking and food prices. Both were discussed at the weekly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and progress occurred on both fronts.

Security’s Report on Parking

Parking has consistently been a major complaint from students.

“Parking at Marist as a commuter is pure chaos,” said Jessica Stanczak ‘26, a commuter student. “On Monday mornings, trying to park by Midrise feels like torture. McCann is always packed, and if it’s not, it’s closed off for some game or event. Fontaine’s lot is a joke, with just one row for commuters that’s always full. The Steel Plant lot? Useless.”

Over the past few months, Marist Security has conducted drone flights across campus at different times of the day, taking photos of the cars present in various parking lots. The data is then fed into graphs and analyzed. The results were then presented to SGA, even though this project is still in the research phase. 

“Marist Campus Safety is using advanced technology to analyze parking density and traffic congestion, so that it can make informed decisions based on empirical data that will lead to improved parking management and pedestrian/traffic safety on campus,” said Director Daniel Gough.

While the study is still purely in the fact-finding phase, the information presented could still be useful.

Gourmet Dining Changes

The principal concern that Mike Eggert, a Gourmet GM, addressed at the SGA meeting was food prices. Students have often questioned prices, especially given how they have increased over the years, while the value of a meal swipe has not. 

“[Food is a] tad bit too expensive, but I feel like my problem is more in the fact that I think a meal swipe should count for one meal. I shouldn’t have to pay five extra dollars for a Rossi & Sons sandwich,” said Jonah Edmonds ‘26. “I think if you use dining dollars, that’s fine, but meal swipes should cover everything.”

A secondary concern was food safety. A member of SGA referenced an incident where he had ordered a meal from the Cabaret, only to find a piece of plastic in his food. Eggert promised to look into it, citing a “secret shopping” technique where he orders food from the Cabaret without letting the associates know who he is, allowing him to inspect it accurately. He attributed the issue to the difficulty in maintaining consistent staffing at the venues around campus.

“We do not have applicants beating down the door to come in…given the Cabaret’s hours of operations, four to midnight, you’re not finding many people that want to work that shift,” said Eggert. Last year, the Cabaret experienced a turnover rate of 300%.

However, he did recommend that anyone who had an issue with the on-campus food say so through the Grubhub app. Recommendations go straight to the top, and the managing staff can use that to make direct changes.