Students having a cow over Holy Cow removal
As the ODE reported on Jan. 23, the university has decided not to renew the lease of Holy Cow Cafe – the long-standing vegan/vegetarian restaurant in the EMU; Holy Cow is slated to be replaced by Laughing Planet Cafe.
The decision came as a surprise to many, including the owner of Holy Cow, Kathee Lavine, who said that she had “been led to believe we were doing a good job.” A committee composed of five EMU employees and one university student thought differently; they unanimously voted to replace the restaurant. EMU Food Services Coordinator John Costello said that Laughing Planet Cafe “could provide everything Holy Cow could do in terms of organic, vegetarian food, and more.”
Needless to say, this has made many vegan/vegetarians on campus very unhappy. The ten year-0ld restaurant is popular among students for its commitment to local business and produce, as well as its sustainable business practices. While Laughing Planet Cafe also caters to the non-meat crowd, it is a non-local chain that serves chicken in some of its dishes. An impromptu campaign to save Holy Cow has sprang up on campus. For example, here’s the Facebook group, The Holy Cow Nation. Holy Cow supporters have been attending EMU meetings, rustling up petition signatures and generally setting up a popular front.
However, not everyone is on Holy Cow’s side. The ODE issued an editorial yesterday lauding the decision to bring in Laughing Planet Cafe; in fact, it took a surprisingly capitalist stance, urging businesses like Holy Cow to get with the times, lest they too be bitch-slapped by the invisible hand. Here’s a snippet:
Hippie goodness and old-fashioned business practices have to pick up on the hawkish side of sustainable business if they’re going to survive the next 10 years. And we want them to, but in cases of highly prized lease space, karma can’t beat the bottom line of aggressive practices and selling more tofu better than the next gal.
The editorial inspired a glut of letters, including this one by Carrie Packwood Freeman. She laments the ODE’s use of things like “economics” and “money” to measure progress:
The editorial’s very limited version of “progress” seen only in economic terms seems more fitting in the Commentator or the Wall Street Journal and not our student paper. If Holy Cow is more sustainable, more organic, more local, and more vegetarian then that is the kind of progress we need right now more than ever
First of all, I resent being lumped in with the WSJ. Second, I resent the idea that the Daily Emerald is “our student paper,” as if it is somehow beholden to or representative of the student body. Third, I resent the idea that the Commentator only measures progress in economic terms; we have plenty of other measures of progress, such as how drunk we are at the moment or how many hate letters we receive per issue.
Food politics aside, the decision to ax the Holy Cow has also raised questions of just how much say, if any, students have in their own campus. Much like beleaguered Mac Court, the restaurant seems to be headed for the chopping block no matter how much students protest. For example, here’s Costello again in the ODE article:
Costello said Holy Cow presented a petition with 380 signatures and he received about 15 letters and e-mails in support of keeping Holy Cow in the EMU.
“We took note of that, but it wasn’t enough to sway us. … It’s clear Holy Cow has some support,” he said.
Popular with students? Long history with the university? Oh well, give it the boot!
I will soon be talking to Robert Kirkpatrick*, the creator of the Facebook group, about the whole megillah, so expect a more detailed report forthwith.
*Full disclosure: I’m good friends with Kirkpatrick, but we couldn’t disagree more about politics; in fact, Kirkpatrick is a dirty pinko, and I shake my fist in his general direction.
