The article, “Dining services jobs for students see high turnovers due to stress, moving on,” is a gross misrepresentation of the experience of many students who work within dining services. One location alone hosts 80 student employees at the height of the semester, making dining services one of the top student employers on campus. While not everyone shares the same experience, it’s important to acknowledge both sides. For many, dining services becomes their home on campus. It is where they make friends and find their community. It offers them a place to grow and develop valuable skills. An article like this not only diminishes positive experiences, but also deters students from pursuing a job there.

The interview with Melissa Smith does highlight some of the great qualities about the job — flexibility in hours, a variety of shifts, friendly work environment — however, this is greatly overshadowed by the negative experience of an anonymous employee at one location. No matter the job, there will always be disgruntled employees. It is incredibly unfair to judge an entire company or generalize experiences based on the voice of a small group. It is the nature of most food service jobs to have a high turnover rate, as pointed out by the author, and often new opportunities play a large role in the decision to leave. However, this does not diminish the quality of one’s time. This article does a very good job of highlighting the bad; now it’s time to acknowledge the good.