GW students are reputed complainers. Seemingly whenever something goes awry, students are prepared with the hackneyed invective that since they pay so much in tuition everything should be perfect. The lack of a fully completed J Street represents the latest target for student anger. And while it is completely justified to assume that a project be completed on time, students should not lose sight of the vast improvements the University has made to food service for students.

Aramark made a commitment at the beginning of the summer to complete its multimillion dollar renovation of J Street by the beginning of school. Unable to hold up their commitment, Aramark has left students with reduced dining options and a general hassle. Despite the obvious downside for students, this delay has the potential to negatively affect Aramark’s business operation in general.

Aramark made an enormous investment in GW when it agreed to renovate J Street as part of its overall plan to provide the University food service for the next 10 years. Aramark saw this as crucial to their operating model given the increased competition stemming from the inception of Colonial Cash. With an incomplete J Street, students are forced to develop eating habits that do not include Aramark-operated venues. The result of this could be damaging for Aramark, given the increasing competition both from the non-affiliated food court in the Ivory Tower and the expanding list of venues available on Colonial Cash.

With some just cause, the current situation is ripe for student complaints. However, these same students should not lose sight of the veracity with which the University has worked to improve the quality of food service for students. Going back as little as two years, GW students bragged about the quality of food service. Back then, the most exciting thing for some students was the Chinese food offered Saturday nights in Thurston Dining Hall. Now, with Colonial Cash, students have access to multiple Chinese restaurants in their meal plan. In general, the implementation of Colonial Cash put a broad cross-section of city restaurants and eateries within reach. This year, GW solicited independent vendors to fill retail space in 1957 E Street and the Ivory Tower. Given these realities, it is hard to argue with how markedly foodservice at GW has improved.

Students should be able to reserve the right to complain about the unsatisfactory completion of J Street for the start of classes. But they should concentrate more on what the renovation of J Street represents in the larger context of improved food service rather than the fact that it was not completed by the assigned deadline.