The cheese on the macaroni looks too neon-colored to be cheddar. The vegans think they’re living in Central America, because all they ever eat for dinner is rice and beans. The bagels are hard enough to fracture your jaw. Yes, I’m talking about the food in the cafeteria.

At the end of this academic year, Sodexho’s contract will be up for renewal. While the student body is largely dissatisfied with the quality of the food, this is the least of Sodexho’s and the administration’s problems.

Throughout the course of last year, charges of racism were brought against Sodexho’s management, and cafeteria workers were warned that they would face termination if they attended on campus events. These injustices have no place on Guilford’s campus and do not fit our core values of equality, community, diversity, and integrity.

After last year’s happenings, why am I having such a hard time jumping on the “get Sodexho off campus” bandwagon? The answer is simple: I care more about people than I do about food. While I don’t go out with them on the weekends, many of the cafeteria workers are my friends.

I know more than half of their names, and for those whose names I don’t know, I smile at them regularly, and they always reciprocate. According to several cafeteria workers who wish to remain anonymous, if Sodexho is booted off campus, all of them will lose their jobs. There is a possibility that the new food provider would re-hire some of the current employees, but there is no guarantee.

Many of the cafeteria workers have been employed by Sodexho for over a decade. They don’t view the people standing next to them in uniforms as co-workers, but as family.

Before you decide to label yourself as for or anti-Sodexho, consider the following questions. Be patient, because they’re difficult.

Do we want to be affiliated with an institution that does business with an un-ethical corporation? Do we want better food or dozens of people who have known each other for years, jobless and separated as friends?

Community is one Guilford’s most widely preached core values. One can be honest, one can have integrity, one can view their peers as equals, but no groups of people can build a sense of community in a day.

Holistically, Sodexho may not be a company that values community. But if their contract isn’t renewed, Guilford may have to erase an entire community in order to re-build one.