If I wake up at 7:15 a.m. on a Friday, the reason for this early rising should naturally be worth my time. To my disappointment, this was not the case for the grand opening of Denim Coffee at the Quarry. I had high hopes, considering the last time I had an iced chai latte on campus was spring semester. I thought it was going to be a joyous day, where caffeine addicts and sleep-deprived students throughout campus would come together to rejoice. The Quarry was like a beacon of hope of no longer needing to drop $3.25 on a Yerba Mate every morning to keep myself from dropping out of this institution by 2 p.m. 

Since I am not quite an early bird, I was borderline delusional as I stood in the never ending line. As I squinted at the blackboard, I found myself limited to two options on this expansive menu. Two. I was crushed. I have the choice of a drip coffee with either a pastry (1 swipe) or a breakfast sandwich (2 swipes) with my Any20 meal plan. Considering the menu is almost identical to the actual Denim Coffee store, this is baffling. All current first years, coffee haters and Any 20 choosers alike are limited to a mere two choices. For people with Flex, Dining Dollars and Declining Balance, the sky’s the limit. The world is your oyster. Yes, I understand that these are other available meal plans (for upperclassmen), but they’re not the most cost efficient ones, nor inclusive. I paid out of pocket for my chai and breakfast sandwich that upsettingly beautiful morning, and I’ll never be the same. 

Though the drink was delicious, the chai didn’t taste as sweet as it usually does. I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth, and I was also nauseous from consuming an obscene amount of sugar at an hour I am usually never awake at. Walking back to my dorm, I felt robbed, melodramatic and half asleep. I was also irritated for myself and the rest of the students. You’d think the administration would have everyone’s best interest as their number one priority. I wouldn’t be nearly as critical about this issue if the Biblio or Snar also served specialty drinks (or anything resembling the Denim menu), but they don’t. The Biblio is still closed and the Snar hasn’t served anything other than drip coffee this entire semester. I thought The Quarry was going to be a compensation for this fact, like an olive branch from the administration. 

I was too hopeful, and that was my mistake considering the past dining service failures. It’s a shame that the Quarry’s options are so restricting because they created a genuinely nice space for students to do whatever they want with. The workers are lovely and everything they serve is of quality. I just don’t think making things accessible to everyone is too much to ask. If there is one place on campus where students can enjoy above average caffeine bearing beverages and a sweet treat (which every class-attending student deserves), all Dickinsonians should be included. The lines might be long to begin with, and making it open to every meal plan might lengthen them more.I don’t think anyone would be mad about waiting a little bit longer to get the drink they actually wanted. We just want to have the options presented. We just want to get our money’s worth. Yet, as of right now, I have to funnel more money into the already absurdly high tuition to get a damn iced chai.