Vending to no one

In South Campus Commons 2, vending machines sit idly as hungry students walk past, heading out the door and to the nearby Commons Shop.

Although many buildings throughout the campus are equipped with vending machines stocked with snacks and sodas, officials said the machines aren't used as often as they'd like them to be. Students, who report using the machines only when desperate or out of other options, said they would be more likely to buy food from them if the machines were equipped to accept student ID cards for payment.

"One bottle might be sold once a week," senior government and politics major Chris Galarza said. "I never see anyone buy anything from the machine."

Late last month, Commons management sent out an unprompted e-mail alerting residents to the fact that vending machines exist in the buildings. But Commons officials said the message shouldn't be taken as a commentary on the vending machines' usage but as a reminder to "make sure students know they exist."

"They're just another option we have if students want to use them," said Erika Poindexter, the associate director of Commons. 

But Steve Gnadt, the associate director for Stamp Student Union, admitted that in the student union, machines are rarely used.

"I think our vending machines are used as a last resort by students when nothing else is available," Gnadt said. "We could do with a few less."

In an attempt to cut down on the energy used to support the neglected machines, the university is jump-starting a pilot program to make vending machines motion-sensitive, corporate services manager Carol Baumann said.

"Pepsi is cooperating with the campus to reduce energy consumption in a pilot program that utilizes technology to manage electricity by cycling the vending machine lights off when there is no motion near the machine," Baumann said.   

But saving energy doesn't solve the usage problem.

At many schools, machines are equipped for students to use their student ID cards to buy a soda.

Junior civil engineering major Nathan Hopper, who lives in Commons 2, said when he does occasionally use the machines, it's on Friday nights, when the Commons Shop — which many students use instead of the vending machines because the shop has more variety and accepts student ID cards — is closed.

The vending machines in the student union see their highest rate of usage between 11 p.m. and midnight, Gnadt said, because that is the window of time when the Union Shop, which also accepts student IDs, is closed when the student union is still open.

Baumann said adding card readers to the vending machines had been considered in the past, but maintaining the cash-only equipment is necessary to contain operating costs.

Lauren Mennen, a junior communication major who transferred from James Madison University, said she often used her dining points for the vending machines at James Madison.  

"I only ever used [the vending machine] with my swipe. It was so convenient, I don't think I put cash in it once because they were everywhere," Mennen said. "I always saw people swiping their cards. It just made it so much easier because not everyone has cash on them, but the cards are always with you."

Although administrators said they understand the issue of convenience, Baumann said the machines aren't likely to change any time soon.

farrell@umdbk.com