OP-ED: Drop Foreign Language Proficiency from Dining Hall Staff Requirements

Thanks to the organizing efforts of Georgetown’s Solidarity Committee and many other campus groups, two years ago we got a commitment by the university to pay workers a true living wage.  However, the fight is not over.  We need to pressure the university to drop the foreign language requirement for working at Leo’s.

Georgetown needs to understand that this is not the SFS; this is food service.  There is no reason to require workers to know a foreign language.  Some may note that we have a large population of foreign students at GU, but all have proficiency in English.  The dining hall staff does not need to know any language other than English to communicate with students.

I see the plight of dining hall workers struggle every day.  For example, I often Grab-and-Go for breakfast. Every time I go, the scary Grab-and-Go swipe lady is speaking to Altagracia in Spanish.  It’s easy to understand her pain, having to speak to her co-workers in a foreign language every day.  I can see why she’s so moody.

I also go to Leo’s for an early dinner often, and I can hardly hold back my tears when I see Leo’s workers eating.  Not only do workers have to know a foreign language, but when eating they have to segregate themselves based on the foreign language they know.  And they’re not allowed to speak English, but like at Grab-and-Go, they have to speak to each other in the foreign language in order to practice it.  Dinner is a break for Leo’s workers.  They shouldn’t be forced to speak in Spanish, Swahili, Arabic, or Vietnamese on break.  It’s a horrible burden for them to have to endure.

The Georgetown Solidarity Committee is at the forefront of this social justice cause, and every student must be involved in creating a more inclusive and fair Georgetown community.  We cannot let this injustice continue.  Everyone at Leo’s should be allowed to practice the all-American right of speaking English.