THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 2, 1995 TAG: 9509020433
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Stung by a bad review of cafeteria food at the University of Virginia, a food service official hid 4,000 copies of the student newspaper containing the review.
The article, headlined ``Beware of inedible horrors lurking in University's dining halls,'' ran in the Cavalier Daily a week ago, the day parents brought first-year students to the school.
Student John Flowers wrote that he detested the food served by Aramark, a private company in charge of food services at U.Va.
``This culinary comedy of errors will serve as the butt of many jokes between you and your cohorts for years to come,'' Flowers wrote.
John Darmstadt, resident district manager for Aramark, hid the papers.
``I felt disbelief and anger,'' Cavalier Daily editor-in-chief Michael H. Sampson said of Darmstadt's actions. ``Then it was a matter of slowing down and beginning the process of recovering the papers.''
Darmstadt brought the papers out of hiding late Saturday afternoon shortly before a meeting with Cavalier Daily editors and U.Va. officials. The papers were redistributed.
He said Friday he regretted his action.
The company's food is ``very, very good,'' Darmstadt said. ``That's one of the reasons I went through the wall. We work very hard to make it that way.''
The company provided a letter of apology Darmstadt wrote to Sampson on Tuesday.
``Please understand that my actions . . . were a direct result of the pride I have for the dining services we provide to the University community,'' he wrote. ``Our employees work hard to provide quality, variety and value every day. I was sad to see their efforts so demeaned.''
As further apology, the company plans to contribute $2,000 to a U.Va. scholarship fund of the Cavalier Daily's choosing.
Sampson said the company also should repay any damages the newspaper's advertisers may have incurred.
The total press run of 6,000 copies had about $8,000 worth of advertising. by CNB