EDITORIAL: "Breakfast of Champions"

Dining Service's "brunchDining Service's "brunchof athletes" does not makeDining Service's "brunchof athletes" does not makesense -- or "cents" -- forDining Service's "brunchof athletes" does not makesense -- or "cents" -- formost students.Dining Service's "brunchof athletes" does not makesense -- or "cents" -- formost students.___________________________ However, the $125.40 plan, offering 12 brunches next semester, works out to $10.45 per meal. The cost reflects an assumption that athletes -- who on average eat three times more than non-athletes -- will be the primary customers. Bill Canney, director of Dining Services, said last week that he hopes non-athletes will still consider the plan -- which might be a logical first step toward full-scale weekend meal service. He said the Sunday brunches will go forward as long as 175 students sign on. Unfortunately, though, we can't recommend the plan -- it's just too expensive and inconvenient. As long as you are getting dressed and walking to the Training House (where the brunches will be held) -- and provided you actually know where the T-House is (at the front of Franklin Field) -- why not walk an extra block to the Penn Tower Hotel? The hotel offers a daily breakfast buffet served in its fancy-schmancy "garden restaurant," known as P.T.'s. This buffet is also an all-you-can-eat breakfast bonanza of starch, sugar and cholesterol. But it only costs $6.37, per person. In our view, the problem is not that Dining Services doesn't offer breakfast on weekends -- the problem is that many students aren't aware of all the ways to get fed on a Saturday or Sunday. At Acme or Thriftway, for instance, $10.45 will buy you enough groceries for about a week's worth of nutritious breakfasts. Spend $10.45 at Wawa or Unimart, and you won't necessarily get a week's worth of provisions, but you will get fed. A tip: pick Wawa O.J. -- $1.99 a half gallon -- over the Tropicana stuff, which is apparently fixed to the market price of gold. Or try this: buy $5.45 of groceries, and pay a friend $5 to spend 15 minutes preparing and serving it. At those wages, your breakfast buddy may even serve you in bed. If you are willing to get dressed, try a local restaurant. Saladalley at 4040 Locust, Kelly & Cohen's at 38th and Walnut, Le Bus at 3402 Sansom, and Smart Alex at 36th and Chestnut are favorites with many students. Each is near dorms and off-campus housing, and each can offer a stomach-stuffing meal (or two) for $10.45, tax and gratuity included. You and four friends could crash the Sunday brunches in most dorms for $10.45. The cuisine may run toward favorites like Presweetened Crunch Bombs, but maybe you'll get the prize. More adventurous? Buy two SEPTA tokens -- which could run you $3 -- and hop on a bus to Center City. With your remaining $7.45, order a "Rooty Tooty Fresh-'n-Fruity Breakfast" at the International House of Pancakes on Rittenhouse Square. You'll even have enough money to buy the Groucho Marx novelty mask to disguise yourself while you order. · Weekend meals ended in 1980 after Dining Services lost $200,000 in two years on the program. Rather than offer a full-scale program again, Canney said he chose the small-scale brunch test to see if interest in weekend meals has returned. "Rather than thinking on a grand scale, [I'm] doing a total reversal and saying, 'Let's do it on a small scale and see if it works,' " Canney said. We are impressed that Canney tried a different tact. The more administrators who exhibit this creativity and who avoid framing potential solutions narrowly, the better the University can become. Canney also demonstrated that he wanted to meet his customers' needs. However, in this case, the alternative solution just doesn't seem practical either. While it was worth considering, it probably isn't worth implementing. Maybe 175 students will prove us wrong.