By Larryse Brown and Siobhan Clarke

Inflation. In today’s economic times when everything seems to be overpriced and people remain underpaid, most would think that in a college community where the underlying theme is “broke” for hundreds of college students, there would give some leeway.

Some students claim they have been forced to think again.

The Hudson View Café, located on the ground floor of the main building, provides food for the students as well as employees. With the renovations over the past few years, the traffic has greatly increased and has become a common “hangout” spot.

Yet the price of it has skyrocketed to the point that some students are claiming that they can’t afford to eat. Some even question why the price for drinks is more expensive than the vending machines right outside the café, offering the same products.

Bottled water $2. Slice of Entenmann’s cake $1. A sandwich costing anywhere from $5 to $8 dollars. Vitamin Waters at a whopping $2.25 each.

Some dorm students are feeling the brunt of the cafeteria’s prices, which have forced some to shop elsewhere for their meals.

“Buying in a supermarket can be expensive if you’re not buying in bulk. At the cafe’, I’m being charged even higher than supermarket prices,” said Jilenne Seely, a junior at Mercy. “So I have to go to Wal-Mart to buy in bulk; otherwise I waste my money in the café.”

A contract agreement between the school and the Lessing’s food services has the price set.

“I do feel that the prices are online with the outside world, and they are reasonable,” said John Dillard, manager of the Hudson View Cafe.

One female athlete expressed to the Impact that she felt she was being “nickel and dimed” by the café.

“I went back into the café to get an extra plate because mine was ripping,” she said. “I was told I wouldn’t be allowed to leave unless I paid a dime for it. That’s just ridiculous.”

Her friend shared a similar story over a cup of hot water.

With over 500 hundred items on the menu price list, “every item in my world has a price,” said Dillard.

Some customers just opt to take the high road and bring in meals from home or different places.

“I’d really rather just bring my own lunch whenever I can. I don’t want to pay a grand for a cheeseburger and fries,” Jasmine Blount, an employee and student, joked.

Dorm students with meal cards seem to feel the brunt also when they can’t keep track of their money with receipts. This becomes a stress factor, as they desperately try to save during the school year.

“I’m down $300 already, and I don’t even know where that money went because at the beginning of the school year the network for the meal cards didn’t work. So I’m asking for a record of charges made to my card and nobody knows what it is,” said another perturbed student.

Even though some students feel the cafe is overpriced, the Hudson View Café will always be a necessity because it still serves as a convenience for the students and the staff alike. Nevertheless, students walking into the Hudson View Café one afternoon to pick up lunch continue to face the scenario of a $10 lunch.

And it is not just the students who are angered.

“My eyes popped out of my head when I was told the price,” said a member of the faculty who ordered a turkey and ham wrap with tomatoes. “I always wondered what an $8.25 sandwich tasted like. I was able to find out.”