I like Terra Ve because it is a convenient place for students to grab a healthy meal on campus-something we could all use a little more of, I would venture to say. You don’t have to be a vegetarian or a vegan to enjoy the things Terra Ve has to offer: fresh salad, delicious pasta, t-a-s-t-y stir fry … And believe me, I love to take advantage of the welcome break from the somewhat questionable food offered elsewhere on campus. I go there at least a few times a month, when I’m feeling particularly health-conscious or when I just want something different and yummy.

Despite my relatively frequent trips to this quaint vegetarian food store, I have noticed something: I have never experienced the flood of hungry people one must wade through to enter, say, Au Bon Pain on any given meal-plan night. Sure, you might have to stand in line for five or 10 minutes to fill your plastic box with some sizzling stir-fry … But, then again, we’ve all hovered awkwardly in ABP for half an hour or more in eager anticipation of hearing our names and picking up a (sometimes correctly made) sandwich. And don’t even get me started on the Subway line on a Saturday afternoon.

Here is my point: Though it may offer extremely tasty and healthy meals to would-be starving college students and staff, Terra Ve has never been the bustling lunch destination it could be. Which is fine; more vegetables for me. If it can comfortably serve its current clientele, can we really ask for any more?

Apparently, we can. It has been said that a portion of next year’s proposed tuition increase will go toward revamping Terra Ve. Now, let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment. In a perfect world, everyone would get the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables every day, sleep eight hours a night and we would all exercise no less than three hours a week.

But, in reality, how likely is it that a throng of students will suddenly storm the doors of Terra Ve in a crazed search for salad? Why do we need to spend extra money to fix something that already works just fine?

I know that, in the grand scheme of things, the amount of money being spent on this expansion isn’t really that great–all renovation is expensive- but do we really need to be undertaking yet another project amidst all the other new and exciting things going on around here? And, if we do expand Terra Ve, how many of you are really going to take advantage of the new space?

In my humble opinion, the money being spent on Terra Ve could be better spent on bigger and better things. Say, for example, air conditioners in Gries that actually work. But, who knows, more health food might actually do us all a little good-if we actually use it.

Megan Kenny is a sophomore in the
College of Arts & Sciences.