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…NYU Management apologises
…as CNN, US Today, interview student
A teenage Nigerian student, Dorothy Akpovwa studying Computer Science at the New York University (NYU) may have well become the heroine of over 2,600 students of the prestigious institution after a daring social media post.
While other students got tired of complaining and got accustomed to the poor meals served them by the institution, Akpovma, a second year student would have none of it.
Classes at the university officially starts on September 2, but the university’s return to campus plans requires students and faculty travelling from outside the country or from restricted states to quarantine for two weeks.
The university had on their website, promised to daily deliver three “nutritious” complimentary meals, plus a snack, to every student stuck in their dorm rooms. However, feedback from students showed the university did otherwise.
In no time, Akpovma made her complaints public. she complained of the dietary restrictions in a meal of watermelon-cucumber and chicken salad she had received.
Her tweet reads: “This is what NYU gave us to eat y’all. Looks like I’m going to look like a skeleton once quarantine is over because imagine me eating this. How does this food combination even make sense?”
Little did she know that her tweets would hit the right cord and set things straight with some compensations to all the students who got the poor ration.
NYU Management apologises
In a swift response and effort to limit the damage that the oversight may cause, NYU apologized and pledged a $100 e-giftcard for every student affected, to spend on food delivery.
An online statement from the institution acknowledged Akpovwa and other students’ complaints, noting them as valid. “This is a never-before-tried operation for us and our food vendor, Chartwells.”
NYU stressed that, “It is vital to get it right, and we are disappointed in Chartwells’ management of the quarantine meals process. We and Chartwells are correcting the situation promptly.”
CNN, USA Today interview Akpovwa’s
As if that was not enough, international news medium also made a feast of the story, turning Akpovwa into an instant celebrity.
Speaking with CNN, Akpovwa said sometimes the meals don’t meet the suggested total calorie intake for a day, which she finds worrying.
In another interview with USA Today, Dorothy Akpovwa said the unsavoury meals was unfair especially considering the increased tuition students were made to pay this year.
Meredith Rosenberg, a Chartwells spokeswoman, told CNN in a statement that there is no excuse for what happened.
She said Chartwells has added additional staffers and shifts to make changes to avoid this from happening again.
“Although we did make plans and prepare for this, we missed the mark, and we are committed to fixing this right away and providing the dining experience that the students, NYU, and we ourselves expect,” she said.
Reacting, Dorothy in the USA Today interview insisted that though it is an unprecedented time for students and the university, the institution should have however made arrangement for the 2, 600 students it was going to receive.
“I feel if you know 2, 600 people are coming to school, then you should be able to make provision for that number especially if they are paying tuition. They just expressed that they were sorry for everything that was happening and that it was their first time trying to manage all these and that’s why they went wrong. But I genuinely feel the food was not up to standard.”