EMU fired people who have been a part of our campus community for decades now, treated them in a way that does not reflect our institution’s mission and beliefs, expected them to follow along and do whatever was asked, hired an organization that has been in numerous controversies, and is spending more money to do so. This, to me, is extremely confusing. What are the numbers in this contract? It seems as if we hired a company, to hire a company that hires other companies. Seeing as this institution is at a point of financial crisis, I strongly question not only the handling and mismanagement of how members of our community were kicked out, but also why we are spending much more money for a move that has not improved our campus, and in my opinion, has made it much worse.
Our campus, because of this, has been noticeably less hospitable, more prone to problems, and damages, more so than any of the four years I have been a student here. Students and faculty have spent weeks with off and on AC units, buildings and houses have flooded, and a long list of other campus issues. Due to these problems, which seem to directly come from the poor handling of the transition, CA’s, RD’s, and Aramark workers have received the majority of the frustration, anger, and hostility, when all are doing what they can to the best of their ability. I am disappointed, frustrated, and flat out mad at those who played a part in this, now seeming, terrible, and rushed process of bringing in Aramark. Not only did these poor decisions by certain administrators impact the livelihoods of members of the EMU community directly, the long and short term consequences have begun to regularly impact the entire campus community, and will continue to do so until this contract runs its course.
In the article that details Susan’s response to the allegations made against Aramark, Susan makes a distinction within the corporation’s divisions, noting that EMU is not contracted with Aramark’s food service division, only the facilities division. She clarifies, “it’s a very different organization” from their facilities, and that “some of the history there is sobering” in regards to information found about the company’s past.
When I heard this response, I was frustrated and confused. All I could think was…what? The two are the same, just separated by different areas of work. All of the allegations, accusations, and controversies that have followed both the facilities and food service sides, reflect on Aramark as a whole. The fact is, Aramark goes against the institutional and moral values of EMU.
The alleged horrendous actions on behalf of Aramark cannot be justified by separating the two in the careers section on the website. As a whole, Aramark is guilty, and EMU is funding an organization that allows these patterns of behaviors. Where did our morals go?
The previous crew was blamed for “abandoning campus” (wording used directly by EMU’s Chief Operating Officer, Shawn Ramer, sent in a campus-wide email to EMU faculty and staff). Pointing fingers, belittling others to campus faculty and staff, while those being criticized are still a part of our campus family, does not reflect EMU’s core values. When criticized for his handling of the situation, in an email response sent by Shawn to Mike Ramer, that the previous staff had 45 days to make a decision, when in actuality, according to said staff, it was more like a week. There is a clear difference in administration’s representation, the feelings, quotes, and timeline given by employees who experienced the transition.
An important thing to note is that, while Aramark the company is atrocious, we as students should not be taking out any frustration on those who are working on campus for Aramark. They are severely understaffed, underequipped, and underfunded. The current, long-running list of issues on campus, in my opinion, is a result of severe errors in judgment on behalf of our administration. They, just as much as us, are members of the EMU community, and I find that to be very important to remember going forward.
When looking at the recently brought up issues on campus, i.e. the five million dollar budget deficit, it is important to note that Aramark is not saving us money (this is something that was shared to the previous facilities crew directly from Shawn). Hiring an organization that goes against what our university claims to believe in while costing us more money than before is extremely disappointing, and frustrating. Not only did those whose livelihoods were directly impacted by this deserve better, but so do the students, staff, and broader community as a whole. EMU should have, and needs to do better going forward.