Student efforts bring back Whole Foods shuttle

A lack of interest from students may have resulted in the disappearance of the Whole Foods shuttle service last semester, but thanks to a campaign organized by a senior dance major, the system is back up and running.

McKenzie Baird, who regularly used the Whole Foods shuttles last year, went into action to restore the service after learning it had been cut.

"I went to the Campus Life Office to find out why they were no longer offered and they said no one used them," Baird said. "Frankly, it's because they didn't advertise and no one knew they ran."

Her complaints reached J.W. Tabacchi, director of Student Activities, who originally removed the shuttle service after an article was published in The Globe revealing students' dissatisfaction with the use of their activity fees.

"If I'm only getting negative feedback, then I have to react," Tabacchi said. "There was a perceived lack of participation so it was something I thought we could get rid of without students getting angry about."

Tabacchi informed Baird that if she could find 50 students who were interested in the return of the shuttles, he would bring the service back.

"I'm always open to bring something back, but I need students to want it," Tabacchi said. "As long as the students show they want something and they will back it up with an action, then I'm open."

Knowing she and many other students would have to walk long distances or pay high taxi fees in order to obtain their groceries, Baird accepted Tabacchi's challenge and created a Facebook group in order to collect her 50 Point Park students.

Along with the social media approach, Baird also received support from former United Student Government (USG) President Ryan Deasy.

"I saw she started the group, and I thought we could do something, so I told her we could do a petition together," Deasy said.

With the support of USG, a petition was made available to sign outside of the Point Cafe, which yielded a sufficient amount of student signatures in order to reinstate the shuttle service for this semester.

Tabacchi is more than satisfied with the students' ability to band together in order to bring back the Whole Foods shuttles and recognizes the strength of student influence.

"[Students] have more power than they think," Tabacchi said. "If you see something that needs changed, just get a group of your peers together and voice your concerns. It is your student activity fee, and if you have ideas on how it can be used, you can let us know."

Baird is more than happy now that the shuttles have returned due to the difficulty of obtaining groceries on campus.

"It's too complicated to get there, and it's too expensive to take a cab," Baird said.

Deasy also agreed that the shuttles are a more than necessary service for students living on-campus.

"There's no real grocery store, so it's just convenient," Deasy said. "The students need some kind of resource, and this is just a nice benefit for everyone."

Other students are also satisfied with the Whole Foods shuttles' reappearance, including freshman dance major Dylan Summers.

"It's especially helpful for dance majors because we try to eat as healthy as we can," Summers said.

Not only is obtaining healthy foods with the on-campus dining services a challenge for students like Summers, but transportation is also a key factor.

"I'll walk to Right by Nature in the Strip [District,] but it's still a half hour walk," Summers said. "I just don't have the time."

Thanks to the student body's firm stance, Summers and many other students can now take the Whole Foods shuttles on Sundays beginning at 3 p.m. If students do not take advantage of this service and if there is a lack of participation, Tabacchi may have to readdress the service. But for now, he is proud of the students' ambition.

"A lot of students were concerned, so they took a stand and decided they wanted this to happen," Tabacchi said. "It was neat to see the students gather around an issue."