By Sarah Wang | Reporter
There is a reason that we only have Starbucks in Moody Memorial Library. If you want to drink something while studying at Moody, Starbucks is your only option. Apart from getting students into the dilemma of making food decisions, Moody, with only one cafeteria, provides a much simpler situation: To drink, or not to drink, that is the question.
For its great facilities and the quiet environment, Moody is the most popular study ground among Baylor students. It operates with a Starbucks on the first floor that provides drinks to students who needs a refresher while cramming for exams. Even though it offers both food and drink, it’s the only food option we have at Moody.
Thus, my friends and I have figured out the worst time to get Starbucks: break time. Whenever we want to buy a Starbucks in between classes, the line is incredibly long — sometimes too long to keep you on time for the next class. The reason is very simple: Students all have similar break times, and they want something to drink while studying at the library.
If you don’t want Starbucks, you must leave Moody for the Bill Daniel Student Center or the food trucks at Fountain Mall. Fortunately, Starbucks offers many drink options from coffee to refreshers, but that variety should not obscure the fact that we need more food options.
I took an economy course this semester, and the first class I had was over types of markets. If we see Moody as a market, then Starbucks is the only supply in this market. A single supplier leaves the market susceptible and would result in a monopoly type of market in which the supplier alone controls the price. Even though the prices are set by Starbucks outside of Moody’s jurisdiction, such an economy limits the quality and the price of the products and is not beneficial to the consumers because people do not have a choice.
Although it’s only an economic theory, and as a library Moody isn’t a market in the strictest sense, it’s beneficial to students if Moody can have more food options. There will be stricter quality control and probably lower prices resulting from the positive competition between these cafeterias.
Even notwithstanding those economic benefits, more food options at Moody still profit students for simple reasons: They don’t have to wait in a long line, and they are free to have other brands for their specific taste apart from the monopolistic Starbucks.
