BY JOSH BURY
A sweet proposal by a Conestoga College student to the Conestoga Students Inc. board of directors could have the college’s coffee and tea drinkers buzzing.
Zoey Ross, a second-year arts and science student, noticed that honey had been removed from the main cafeteria and Sanctuary cafe. The staff at these locations said that students had not been paying the 25-cent cost to add the honey to their beverages.
Ross’s proposal, entitled “the honey pot plot,” would have CSI provide honey to students, either using CSI funds, or in a partnership with a honey farm in exchange for publicity, the ability to sell honey periodically on campus or other widespread exposure.
Ross cited the health benefits of using honey as opposed to other sweeteners and argued that honey is generally available at other establishments that serve tea and coffee, including Starbucks, whose coffee is brewed in the main cafeteria.
The proposal also cited a paraphrased conversation that Ross had with the “senior manager” of Chartwell’s, the company that provides food services on campus. The report says the manager stated “students weren’t paying for (honey)” and that they “lost over $300 on (honey) this semester so far.”
The CSI board of directors did not pass a motion to commit to providing honey, nor did they tell Ross to “buzz off.” They did say they would look into the costs of providing honey in the Sanctuary Cafe and would revisit the issue at the next meeting of the board of directors, scheduled for Jan. 29.
CSI receives a portion of sales generated from the Sanctuary Cafe.
“We will be looking into (Ross’s) proposal about the honey extensively as we do see the benefit of having that option available to our students who are looking for that alternative to adding sugar/sweeteners to their coffee or tea,” CSI president Jason Wright said in an e-mail to Spoke.
Exact monetary amounts or primary research regarding student demand for honey were not provided by Ross in his proposal, but when asked by CSI general manager Janie Renwick, he said that his household, made up of eight students in total, were all in favour of having honey available.
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