Miss. State getting out of the cafeteria business

Although not an alumnus of Mississippi State, I note with some sadness that the university plans to contract its cafeteria services to an outside company. I always enjoyed eating there and never could figure out why the colleges I did attend couldn't serve food as good as what students were served at State.

The cafeteria was long regarded as a great place to eat. Laurie Courtney, our circulation manager, told me that, even though she lived off campus, she still always tried to eat at the cafeteria for Sunday lunch "because it was like having a home-cooked meal."

Reading between the lines of the official announcement, this is a move to reduce costs at a time when tuition and fees have been increasing at all of the state's universities.