After receiving multiple complaints concerning ADA violations,
Campus Dining implements new improvements
Jared Berg
Editor in Chief
According to several students at The College of Wooster, the Department of Campus Dining and Conference Services has failed to provide proper accommodations and allowances for students who follow specialized diets, whether they be for medical reasons or otherwise.
Chrissy O’Grady ’17 and Onyx (Sarah) Marosi ’17 say that they are two of many students whose dietary needs are not being adequately addressed by Campus Dining.
“Campus dining fails to provide proper accommodations to students with food-related obstacles,” said Marosi.
Both Marosi and O’Grady are students who applied for meal plan exemptions for medical reasons, but were denied for reasons that are unclear.
“Last year I began the meal exemption process. The process was changed while I was completing it,” Marosi said. “Despite completing the original and the new processes and providing accurate medical documentation, I was denied.”
O’Grady, whose medical accommodations require a low-sodium diet, says that her diet had not been serviced by Campus Dining. After being denied a meal plan exemption, and after many months of trying to coordinate proper accommodations with little progress, she contacted the Department of Justice due to what she says is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“According to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), regarding private institutions providing public services, students with food-related allergies or specific diets are covered under the ADA as long as it affects the everyday conditions of the person in question,” O’Grady said. “I called the Department of Justice hotline to see if my disease is covered, as all autoimmune diseases are covered. The representative said that I am covered under the ADA to have reasonable accommodations.”
However, in the past week, Director of Campus Dining and Conference Services Marjorie Shamp contacted O’Grady to inform her of changes at Lowry to better accommodate low-sodium diets, such as the replacement of high-sodium ingredients with their low-sodium counterparts.
When reached for comment, Shamp recognized the improvements still to be made regarding campus dining and its accommodations for special diets, and pointed out recent improvements in response to student suggestions and needs. For an example, Shamp pointed to the change to a healthier brand of peanut butter, a direct response to student suggestions.
More pertinent for students with special dietary restrictions, however, is the hiring of a new sous-chef at Lowry Dining Hall. Shamp said part of the responsibilities for this new hire will be helping Campus Dining coordinate more effectively with students who have food allergies and concerns.
O’Grady responded to the most recent Campus Dining changes by saying, “I’m excited for the changes. I think that a lot of students will benefit from them. I hope it will shift campus dining towards a more accommodating and sustainable environment. However, there is still a lot of work to be done and many things have not been implemented and can take a while to implement.”
One particular area that still needs to be addressed is the nutrition information displayed at each food station.
According to O’Grady and Marosi, this information is oftentimes incorrect.
Shamp agreed that the labels need to be updated, and stated that the department is working on updating the information, but that it is a time-intensive process.
Amber Larson, Director of the Learning Center and coordinator for all ADA accommodations, said that she cannot comment on individual cases but encouraged students to review the procedures found under Disability Support Services at Wooster.edu.
