Earlier this semester, a rumor spread that Case Western Reserve University would ban bake sales and barbeques. Much of the information regarding the potential ban was misinformation spread by uninformed campus administrators. As it turns out, the campus food policy will not change.

Food and catering policies at CWRU are determined by the building the specific event is hosted in. Current policies can be found on the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) website.

For events in Thwing Center, baked goods and bake sales are allowed. Additionally, non-university catering is allowed, but homemade catering—students making their own food for events that require catering—is not permitted. In the Tinkham Veale University Center, bake sales are only allowed at the walkway tables in the center of the building. Any catering must be done through Bon Appétit, and no homemade catering will be permitted.

USG president Chippy Kennedy spoke about how the rumors started and what USG is doing to protect student interests.

“During Orientation and the first week of school, a campus administrator was incorrectly telling student groups that student barbeques and bake sales were no longer permitted under a new university policy,” said Kennedy. “Although this administrator was incorrect, a few students raised concerns with Undergraduate Student Government and Residence Hall Association at that time. The policy rumors did and do not show any major university policy change, and both student affairs and USG are adamant on representing undergraduate interests if any future changes are considered.”

According to Janice Gerda, director of residence life and services, there is also no ban on homemade food made by Resident Assistants, as one source suggested in a previous Observer article.

“Residence Life doesn’t have a rule like that [food ban],” said Gerda. “I read the article in The Observer about food rules for resident assistants, but I’m not aware of a policy such as that.”

Kennedy encourages students concerned about the university’s food policy to contact USG.