Editor’s Note: This is an opinion piece, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the entire Willistonian staff.

Uber Eats, DoorDash, and other similar delivery services should be allowed at Williston.

While Williston is lucky enough to have countless options for food other than the dining hall, including Antonio’s, Dunkin’, Tandem Bagel Company, and Mount Tom’s Ice Cream, Williston does not allow its students to use delivery services such as Door Dash and Uber Eats.

Many students believe that this policy does not make sense, as these delivery services do not differ from the delivery services at places such as Antonio’s.

If Williston were to allow students to use these services, there would be several benefits for the community. Students who have allergies and are unable to eat many of the foods in town would be able to have a wider variety of options.

Hana Naughton, a junior from Austin, Texas, who has two allergies and is also a vegetarian, said that since dining services in general do not cater to people with food restrictions, being able to use these delivery service apps would be beneficial.

Another student, Laura Porter, a first-year residential post graduate from Westwood, Mass., said that she is vegan, and when she lived at home, she had many more vegan options available.

“Having other delivery service options would be beneficial,” Laura said.

Like many students on campus, Cora Webber, a senior from Johnston, Rhode Island, plays sports year round. She said that sometimes, when getting to the dining hall late, there are minimal options for healthy and filling foods. Cora said that if she were able to order food, she might order from somewhere like Chipotle.

“I think coming back late after the dining hall closes makes it really tough because we can only rely on the pizza,” Cora said. “We need to be able to fuel our bodies, and sometimes the dining hall does not have things at that hour that will fuel us in the way we might need. Uber Eats or DoorDash gives us a lot more options.”

Alex Hershon, a third-year boarding junior from Scarsdale, New York, said he does not understand why Williston prohibits these food delivery options.

“We can order from places like Antonio’s, so it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Many students live in areas of the world where these types of delivery services are always available, and have become comfortable with the system. Kat Livingston, a senior from Watch Hill, Rhode Island, said that she has used Uber Eats “all the time at home.”

“I feel that it is very safe, especially on a campus where we are being watched by faculty at pretty much all times,” Kat said.

While it is evident there are many reasons that these types of delivery services would be beneficial on campus, there could also be some potential negative effects, include students starting to eat at the dining hall less and spending more money than necessary each week.

Dave Koritkoski, the Associate Dean of Students, explained that the Williston faculty does not know the Uber Eats drivers, and it would be dangerous for the community to have so many unknown people on campus constantly.

“Third-party delivery services have drivers who aren’t vetted the way local business are,” Koritkoski explained. “It presents a real problem for us as a residential community to have unknown people coming and going from our campus on a daily basis.”