On Aug. 28, the Rhodes Student Government  executive cabinet met with food service consultant Brailsford & Dunlavy, the firm that will be assisting the College as it reassesses its contract with Aramark. In attendance were Student Body President Spencer Beckman ’19, Student Body Vice President Catherine Owen ‘20, RSG Chief of Staff Pooja Dave ’19 and Student Trustees Iain Parks ’19 and Junior Walters ’19. The purpose of the meeting was to help Brailsford & Dunlavy determine what students want in a vendor.

“That means keeping many of the employees at the Rat and Lair and making sure those employees are treated like actual people and not machines,” Parks said.

In addition to servicing universities across the United States, Aramark is also the largest food service provider to private prisons. While Rhodes has dismissed the accusations of sexual assault, drug trafficking and other misconduct brought against Aramark at the federal level, Michigan courts found an Aramark supervisor guilty of arranging an assault on an inmate. The state cancelled its contract with Aramark in 2015.

Rhodes is considering entering a contract with a new vendor, but assures students that all the Rat and Lair staff will retain their positions if they want them. The managerial staff, as Aramark employees, would no longer have a presence on campus. RSG considers the relationships students cultivate with Rat and Lair employees important, particularly for first-years, many of whom are away from home for the first time. For many students, it is a comfort to see the same faces at meals.

“Everyone who works at the Lair is awesome, but the lady who works at the sandwich station is my favorite. I usually get wraps for lunch and whenever she sees me in line she pulls out a tortilla before I even step up to order. It’s such a small thing but the fact that she remembers what I like makes my day every time,” Natalie Pratt ’21 said.

The RSG executive cabinet also discussed with Brailsford & Dunlavy what the process of getting a new vendor might look like, and how RSG might be of assistance. When asked for details, the cabinet declined to comment.