Senate Beat: Sept 26 2019
Senate addresses food service and naloxone change
Last week the Reed College Student Senate directed its focus to the topic of “Food at Reed” with two representatives from Bon Appetit in the audience and a visual presentation provided by Shannon Tivona, a Bon Appetit Management Company Fellow. Later on, Director of Community Safety Gary Granger explained the campus safety and security decision to change the form of naloxone administration across campus due to their expiration this past weekend.
Only a few committee reports filled the commencement of the meeting. Most notably, Senator Billy Fish alluded to his meeting with the staff at the Health and Counseling Center (HCC) in regards to structural changes and student concern. Student Body President Pax Lloyd-Burchett initiated the vote to appoint the Pool Hall Manager and the Renn Fayre Czars.
Tivona gave a powerpoint presentation outlining the five ways Bon Appetit works to uphold their slogan, “Food service for a sustainable future.” Bon Appetit assured Senate and the audience that almost all of the meals served at Reed are prepared with local ingredients. According to Tivona, the eggs are all cage free and go through a rigorous third party certification that works to battle the usage of “barn packing” in supposedly free-range farms. Also in working to uphold their slogan, 25 percent of Reed’s meat, poultry, and eggs come from one of the four strictest animal welfare companies; Bon Appetit supports the Coalition of Immokalee Workers by paying an extra 1 cent per pound of tomatoes that goes to growers participating in the Fair Food Program who then distribute the premium to farmworkers who receive a Fair Food Program line-item bonus on their paychecks; all seafood products used are analyzed and approved by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch; and Bon Appetit is constantly fighting food waste by implementing source reduction, feeding the hungry, feeding animals, and composting.
Gary Granger stood up to discuss the recent changes to the naloxone kits provided on campus. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that is used to initiate the reversal of an opioid overdose and can be administered several different ways. Reed previously provided intramuscular naloxone injections in each dorm building, but when these kits expired this past weekend, management decided to switch to the cheaper, easier, and apparently just as effective naloxone nasal spray. Granger assured the committee that CSOs have been trained in the administration process. Should you have any further questions regarding the switch or new procedure, you can get more information at 28 West, Granger said. He also noted that naloxone works immediately but has a short half life, so it is cleared from the body quickly. Should you be confronted by an opioid overdose, Granger said, you should first call the CSOs at (503) 788-6666, then administer the nasal spray as needed.
This article was edited on October 9, 2019 to correct an error regarding the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.