Bon Appétit’s War on Clubs

Corporatocracy runs so rampant at Whitman that it ceases to be a topic of discussion or debate altogether, embedding company interest, influence and power as the norm rather than as a site of injustice. Bon Appétit Catering is responsible for all food, drinks and snacks in multiple campus buildings: Cleveland Commons, J-Caff and the Reid Campus Center. Yet, the true degree of Bon Appétit’s influence and jurisdiction goes unrealized by many.

Bon Appétit struck a deal with Whitman College known as a first right of refusal agreement which applies to all events held on Whitman College’s campus and properties, regardless of the sponsoring group. It applies to ASWC-affiliated and non-affiliated clubs, academic and administrative departments and groups that rent space for events at Whitman College. The agreement reads that all of the above groups must first contact Bon Appétit for all catering inquiries rather than using external catering companies or restaurants. The only allotted exceptions to this rule are if the food serving is only kept to small snacks, — what a small snack exactly is remains undefined — and if Bon Appétit says no to the catering request or fails to respond by a week prior to the event date. Despite the pervasiveness of its reach at Whitman, these first right of refusal policies are done on a case-by-case basis in conversation with the academic institutions they partner with, and many do not opt to institute first right of refusal policies that affect student clubs to this degree. One Fellow from Bon Appétit even noted to me personally that, at her college, Bon Appétit often gave student clubs free food or, at minimum, charged very little. The Fellow also noted there were no obligations to purchase from them at all, making the degree of oversight Bon Appétit (a for-profit company) has on campus not inherent to the United States college experience but essential to a Whitman one.

Still, the lack of clear information regarding the first right of refusal policy, especially considering the exorbitant consequences of violating, is immediately alarming. Upon inquiring about where students can learn more about how to follow the first right of refusal policy, I was told club advisors have this information. As an executive member of multiple clubs, I am unsure what club advisors Bon Appétit is referring to here, as clubs at Whitman do not usually have individual direct advisors. Upon searching the Bon Appétit website, there is no explanation of the rules regarding their own policy, meaning most information regarding such is word of mouth from club to club.

Even serving size information is excluded as the student catering menu is broken down by price per person or “PP.” Yet, upon inquiring what per-person size is, Bon Appétit did not have a written list and told me they would need to figure out those numbers and could write them down if I truly needed them. This information should already be provided, as nutrition details can be critical for increasing accessibility — so, non-availability even when being directly asked is alarming and should be immediately rectified.

Nevertheless, if clubs break the first right of refusal policy, they are at risk of losing their ASWC funding entirely. This forces clubs to comply with rules they cannot verify are correctly understood, or they risk losing access to critical funds to keep their own communities alive.

The high price of Bon Appétit food is also a major concern among student groups. Bon Appétit justifies this by noting how they bring the food to the event and provide all relevant utensils and serving tools, but many student groups would likely opt to forgo such if it meant a large reduction in price, as many operate on limited budgets. Defending price differentials with the value of an add-on service that students never asked for is not charitable to students, rather, it’s coercive in an attempt to strong-arm students into filling in revenue gaps that Whitman College should be responsible for.

Ultimately, Bon Appétit is only allotted the power that Whitman College grants it, so these issues only stem from the college’s willingness to sacrifice student dollars to backfill their own pockets. Bon Appétit’s domain has gone too far, and it is high time the Whitman college administration realizes the injustice that has and continues to occur on a daily basis due to its negligence on mitigating corporatocracy on campus.

Bon Appétit’s War on Clubs

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