Students protest cultural appropriation in the dining hall

There’s a food fight happening at Oberlin College, and a number of student groups aren’t happy.

For some time now, students at the Ohio-based college have been protesting its campus dining services and foodservice provider, Bon Appetit Management Company, over what they deem to be insensitive dining-hall food, reports The New York Times.

Student members of the college’s Black Student Union protested earlier this month for more traditional meals, including more fried chicken. And in November, the college’s newspaper—The Oberlin Review—published several complaints from international students calling out dishes they believe to be forms of cultural appropriation, including a poorly prepared Japanese sushi, according to the Times.

In a recent statement, Michele Gross, Oberlin’s director of dining services, said the school has met with students about their complaints and will continue to keep the dialogue open. “In our efforts to provide a vibrant menu we recently fell short in the execution of several dishes in a manner that was culturally insensitive,” she said. “We are committed to making sure these missteps don't happen in the future.”