No, that Panda Express thing will never be over. After the ASUC Store Operations Board voted against approving a lease contract

for the Chinese fast food chain, the food co-op movement wiggled itself into a competitor position. Who will dominate? Who will take over the STA Travel spot? This town ain’t big enough for the both of ‘em.

Tonight, the board will revisit the Panda contract. Tonight is fight night. As Megan Coontz, vice president of external affairs for the Berkeley Student Cooperative, puts it:

They have a choice between a profit-based chain or a cooperative enterprise.

Ooh! Which one? Despite our misgivings about Panda, we’d have to admit that right now, “profit” sounds pretty darn sexy.

In this case, we turn to the Daily Cal’s comments section for the true wisdom on this issue (of course). Eric says:

Just approve Panda Express already. No one wants another crappy “food cooperative”.

O RLY? An anonymous commenter struck back:

Yeah, fuck those crappy food cooperatives, like Zachary’s Pizza, Cheeseboard, Nabolom Bakery, …..

Oh shoot oh shoot.

Image Source: hectorhannibal under Creative Commons
Food Co-op Hopes to Compete For Lease With Panda Express [Daily Cal]
Earlier: Breaking: No More Panda … for Now

Shot down by a vote, five to four
It would seem that the Panda’s no more
But not all is lost
The talks aren’t yet tossed
If they bring student concerns to the fore.

Image Source: Toronja Azul under Creative Commons
ASUC Store Operations Board Votes Down Deal With Panda Express [Daily Cal]
Earlier: One Last Chance to Rub Panda Express Out

In other words, your presence is requested at the contract vote for Panda Express on Lower Sproul. Will protesters prevent this momentous decision? Probably not, but we’d never say no to another appearance of a panda suit.

Day: Tuesday, April 14
Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Eshleman Hall

Image Source: Anna Hiatt, Daily Cal
The Panda Express Contract is Voted On. [Facebook]
Earlier: ‘You Can Try to Stop the Panda, but Eventually …’

Sunday Shout-Out picks out the week’s stories that simply slipped our minds.

*The Daily Cal has finally jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. Incidentally, it’s the same bandwagon on which the Clog has been chillin’ for, like, ages.  No biggie. [Twitter]

*ASUC Lesson of the Week: You are, in fact, responsible for e-mails that you send. Whodathunkit? [Daily Cal]

*One more fairly infuriating/mildly hilarious thing about the ASUC.  But that’s it, we swear. [Notes from the Field]

*Students cook up food co-op plan as an alternative to the Panda. Maybe they should have a wok-off.  Or maybe we’ll just have to wait and see how things pan out. (Eh? Ehh?) [Daily Cal]

Image Source: Eddie Rosenbaum, Daily Cal
Earlier: End of the Week Closes on a Sad Note

Earlier this week, the Store Operations Board and representatives from Panda Express met in the ASUC Senate Chambers during a dark and stormy night.

The storm was, of course, a protest of around 40 students who “yelled and banged on the windows of the senate chambers.” Wow, that’s serious business.

Let’s just hope that we don’t end up killing the thing we love most in the world. (If you know what we mean by that, you’re smarter than us.)

Image Source: Kaptain Kobold under Creative Commons
Student Protest Against Panda Express Gathers Outside Eshleman Hall [Daily Cal]
Berkeley students decry proposed Panda Express [SFGate]

This time, the bear in question is the Bear’s Lair, currently home to a host of small businesses like Healthy Heavenly Foods, Taqueria El Tacontento and The Coffee Spot, which operate on month-to-month agreements with the ASUC Store Operations Board and have been there for over two decades.

The board, which manages the food court, decided in December that they’re now going to open up the Lair for bidding by other restaurants with the goals of  ”meeting green business requirements, renovating the food court and employing students. ” Sounds like the same argument used to introduce a certain other foreign species to Lower Sproul.

We’re not buying that the Lair is going green and “thinking of the children” during this time of economic recession. And judging by the line-up of potential replacements: Tully’s Coffee, Brazil Cafe and Subway, we get the feeling that these successful Shattuck Avenue venues are being displaced to Lower Sproul. We smell money.

Image Source: squacco under Creative Commons
Bear’s Lair Businesses To Compete For Spaces [Daily Cal]

Last we checked, commercial fast food chains, especially ones offering food with copious amounts of grease and harrowing nutritional facts, not to mention styrofoam takeout boxes kind of defy Berkeley’s tradition of supporting small businesses, diversity, environmentally sustainable practices and somewhat healthy, kind of organic food (it is a college town after all).

According to the Daily Cal, “Panda has agreed to offer healthy food options on our campus. We are working with them to create a vegetarian option as well as a low-calorie menu.” Wow, a vegetarian menu option?

So you may be thinking, if adding a Panda to Lower Sproul is basically one goat vial away from Berkeley selling its soul to the capitalist devil (we picture capitalist hell as something like Black Friday mall shopping where everyone walks exceptionally slow and perfume is constantly sprayed in your face), then why let this evil bear roam free on our campus?

That’s right: money. Panda Express officials have indicated they will invest more than $500,000 into the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, as well as provide internship opportunities (um, like making Chow Mein?) to students and working wages to employees. Wow, you think they mean the minimum wage required by the state?

Anyway, everyone’s known about this for a while, but as of Wednesday, Panda Express and campus officials signed a letter of intent laying down the principles of the agreement and have agreed to officially begin contract negotiations. So it looks like soon there’ll be a bear on campus even uglier than Oski.

Image Source: craig1black under Creative Commons
Panda Express Begins Contract Talks to Open Campus Branch [Daily Cal]
Earlier: Panda Express on Campus: Ugh, Are You Serious?

Let’s not talk about Panda Express because, hey, coffee! Students like coffee, right?

The Store Operations Board for campus is talking with Tully’s Coffee to open (potentially) a kiosk in the student union. You know, because that space is just a major dearth of coffee, what with the GBC and the Coffee Spot a bajillion miles away.

OK, so it’s better than Starbucks and organic, but really? Don’t we also have Yali’s in VLSB and Stanley Hall? FSM ring a bell? That hidden place in Dwinelle Hall? And let’s not forget the student favorites that line the edge of south campus.

It’s about time, you know. Thank goodness someone is coming to fill this void in our lives.

Image Source: Emma Lantos, Daily Cal
Tully’s Coffee May Open Branch in Student Union [Daily Cal]
Earlier: Panda Express on Campus: Ugh, Are You Serious?

* Remember that emerging Berkeley blog we warned you about? Well, it’s here, and it’s reporting, like, last year’s news.

* We weren’t the only ones who upchucked a little in our mouths over Panda Express, and now one blog wants you to nag the Man about it.

* Even AC Transit insists you register to vote with its giant bus o’ vote. The California deadline is Oct. 20.

* The Arts blog has got your back … and your October concert line-up.

Image Source: Fayzan Gowana, Daily Cal
Earlier: More Politics More Than Usual

Apparently, you wanted this, students. (We do not remember voting for such a beast.) According to a survey from spring 2007, 60 percent of students polled were in favor of greasy chain Chinese fast food. Woo, yeah, go (panda) bears?

ASUC Senator Christina Oatfield recently authored a bill in opposition to Panda Express opening an on-campus location, but that’s a shot in the dark. You see, it’s about the money. About $500,000 of it, steered toward renovating the student union.

So much for Brazil Cafe. That sassy shack certainly couldn’t dish out the type of dough Panda Express is offering. We guess we’ll just have to cry in our bowl of chow mein. Meanwhile, let’s see if the powers-that-be can actually do anything about the Lower Sproul/student union conundrum of doldrums that has plagued the campus for so long.

Image Source: celikins under Creative Commons
Panda Express Moves Forward with Proposed Lower Sproul Branch [Daily Cal]
Earlier: Brazil Cafe May Open New Location on Lower Sproul