Natalie Alatriste/Contributing Writer
Students that walk in and out of the School of International and Public Affairs building have noticed they have no place to buy food anymore.
The building’s Provisions on Demand Market, a quick-stop for students and faculty to buy sandwiches, drinks and snacks, has cleared out along with its seating area.
The hall is now vacant, and only some seating areas remain. Students try to make use of the large space, but the hall still sits with only few tables left.
Its disappearance was due to the addition of the new Management and New Growth Opportunity building, which will now hold over 400 seats in the dining area, along with three new dining options: a second Starbucks, Taco Bell and Panda Express.
Felicia Townsend, director of business services, says the SIPA POD Market was a temporary commitment until the MANGO building was completed.
“The area where the P.O.D. [Market] was located was originally designed for the purpose of holding events,” she wrote in an email to Student Media. “The P.O.D. seating space is now available for these special events for the School of International Affairs.”
But the P.O.D. was taken out too early; the MANGO building won’t open until Oct. 20.
The only areas that are currently available for students to eat on the west side of Modesto A. Maidique Campus are Tropical Smoothie Café, in the Recreation Center’s first floor, and Breezeway Café by the dorms.
These two dining offers have increased in business since the start of fall semester, according to Townsend.
“Our students, faculty and staff in the area are finding suitable dining alternatives, and many are visiting Breezeway and Tropical Smoothie for the first time,” Townsend said.
The prices of the P.O.D. were high for on-campus eats, and according to Townsend, the people traffic would lessen with the opening of the MANGO building.
However, some students don’t seem to like the change.
Caitlin Whitlock, a junior double majoring in criminal justice and psychology, had a couple of classes in SIPA last spring, and would eat at the P.O.D. every morning before class.
“Even though it was expensive, I would still shop there because it was convenient,” she said. “No one wants to go to GC to grab a bottle of water.”
She thinks grabbing something at MANGO will ultimately be more of a nuisance than P.O.D. because it’s not the same thing to go to a food court than to a quick mart.
“MANGO seems to offer more meal options than anything else,” she said. “ I liked grabbing a quick snack on the way to class, and I don’t feel MANGO offers that.”
While some students understand the reasoning behind closing the market, they think it should have stayed until the opening of MANGO.
Alexa Webb, a junior majoring in athletic training, agrees. She’s had three classes in SIPA and would frequent the P.O.D.
“I used to go there to grab a quick snack before class because it was convenient, even though it was pricey,” says Webb. “I thought I was going crazy because it was there one minute and gone the next.”
This article has incorrect Information.
“The only areas that are currently available for students to eat on the west side of Modesto A. Maidique Campus are Tropical Smoothie Café, in the Recreation Center’s first floor, and Breezeway Café by the dorms.”
There is also Java City located on the first floor of the College of Business Complex.