Almost everyone has seen the “Got Milk?” commercials on TVs and billboards. These commercials try to educate the public on the importance of including milk in the everyday diet. Not only is milk a source of calcium, which strengthens bones, but it also contains protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fat.
Growing up, I was always badgered by parents and doctors alike to drink more milk. Milk soon became my primary drink with meals. Imagine my surprise when, while buying my first meal at the Russell House with a meal swipe, I was told my meal price went over the swipe limit because of the jug of milk I had for my drink. I went back and exchanged my milk for a soft drink, which not only put me within the swipe limit but started an unhealthy habit of choosing sugary soda over wholesome milk.
At a university that prides itself on being ranked the 21st best college dining option by The Daily Meal, I have found it surprisingly hard to continue making healthy drink choices. No college student wants to go over the meal plan price limit and, as choosing a milk jug causes this overage to happen, will almost always go with the included soft drink.
When I complained to a friend about this lack of milk dilemma, he told me that there were smaller half-pint milk options on the first floor of Russell that were cheaper than the jugs. While this smaller container size does fall within the meal swipe, it contains a considerably smaller amount of liquid than the soft drink cups. These smaller milk containers are also not on the second floor of the Russell House dining area, thus making them hard to get to.
USC needs to make drinking healthy just as affordable as drinking soda. The well-being of students should always come first and making milk more accessible at the Russell House would help promote a healthy lifestyle.
Got soft drinks? Yes. Got milk? No. Let’s change that.