AP Discovers Wesleyan’s Fancy Cheesiness

While The Onion has always subtly recognized Wesleyan’s appetite, it looks like the Associated Press has now caught a whiff of the cheese co-op:

Some, like Wesleyan University junior Nica Latto, prefer wedges of locally produced artisanal cheeses added to the mix, perhaps a gouda with a slightly nutty undertone or a Gruyere for a fondue party while studying with classmates.

So to satisfy palates that lean more gourmet than grub, Latto and several friends organized a co-op in which fancy cheeses from a nearby Connecticut farm are delivered each week to the Middletown campus and distributed to students, many of whom line up with baguettes — and meal cards — in hand.

While universities nationwide have updated their dining hall menus to meet the increasingly epicurean expectations of students like Latto, many students are also taking things a step further and bringing fancy fare to campus on their own.

Aside from using the word fancy four times, the article also quotes Nica and the president-elect:

“I think our generation or just people in general are becoming more conscious about the quality of what they eat, where it comes from and if it’s sustainable,” said Malter, 20, a sophomore from Irvington, N.Y.

BAMCO, meanwhile, is portrayed as a generous entity whose only wish is to appease student desires:

Bon Appetit Management Co., Wesleyan’s food service provider, lets students use their university-issued dining points toward the cheese co-op, as it also does for students on other campuses for farmers’ markets and other non-dorm dining venues.

I’m not quite sure what they mean by allowing students to use points for farmers’ markets.  We can use them for the meal Bon Appetit provides at the Farmers’ Market, but not to purchase from the actual vendors.  If that’s the case at other schools, we should try to get it.  Penn, another Bon Appetit school, has a “squash salad with dandelions, based on a Native American recipe,” if anyone’s interested.

The article has been picked up so far by the Washington Post, Newsday, Dansbury News Times, and The Canadian Press.  Click on any of them to read the full article.