About three weeks ago, I was scrolling through my Snapchat stories like I do about 20 times a day.
Something odd came up on one of my friend's stories: a photo of a plate with rice, chicken, and what seemed to be a mouse.
Completely caught off guard, I replayed the story several more times. And each time, there was definitely a mouse on that plate.
A few hours later, that same photo was screenshotted and posted to several Snapchat stories. Basically viral.
A few days later, Aramark, Temple University's source of food, posted on their Instagram. They claim this mouse was actually a chicken wing, and the whole thing was a hoax.
Jokes began to accumulate on all the postings of the Aramark Instagram.
"With or without mouse?" or "with a side of rat," some of them read. It seems hilarious, but it's actually sickening.
To make matters worse, it turns out the victim of the mouse plate was my roommate. And she decided to fight back on Aramark's false claims.
My roommate emailed Aramark a photo of her plate, and said that she knows for a fact it was a mouse in her food. She was not happy with how Temple handled this. They care more about their reputation than their students and sanitation.
Many students spend thousands of extra dollars on a meal plan. For some, like myself, this is a choice. For others, like freshmen who live in dorms, they really have no other source of food.
So when these kinds of things occur to put doubt in the sanitation of our food, people are going to fight back.
Unfortunately, according to Temple News, there have been findings of mouse droppings in the dining hall where the mouse is alleged to have been.
Temple will undoubtedly continue to defend themselves against the mouse claim. Obviously, though, there will be a change in the entire approach to eating at this school.
This is not how it should be. Students should not be afraid to eat at their own school dining hall. Especially if options are limited and we are paying money for it.
It is important for Health Inspections to be done regularly, and it is important for students to feel comfortale within their own university.
From now on, I will not be purchasing a meal plan nor eating in any of the dining halls.
