If you have ever tried to grab a quick snack or drink between classes, you have probably noticed that our campus vending machines are not exactly reliable. With six total vending spots; two in Marano Campus Center (one downstairs and one newly added upstairs), one in Penfield Library, one in Lanigan Hall, one in Wilber Hall and one in Tyler Hall you would think it would be easy to find what you need. But that is just not the case.

For starters, the placement of these machines does not make much sense. Four of the five locations are crammed into the same general area: MCC, Lanigan and Penfield. Meanwhile, other heavily used buildings like Shineman Hall or even the new Hewitt Hall have none. If you are someone who spends most of your day in Shineman, you are out of luck unless you want to take a mini field trip just to buy a drink. It would make far more sense to spread the machines out across campus, especially to the buildings that see constant traffic throughout the day.

Even when you do manage to find a vending machine nearby, there is no guarantee it will actually have what you are looking for. The machines normally get restocked on Mondays and by mid-week, they are practically ransacked. Trying to grab a snack or energy drink later in the week means staring into mostly empty rows and hoping for the best. Some machines, like the one downstairs in MCC or the one in Wilber Hall, barely seem to get refilled at all. It is so frustrating to walk up to a vending machine hoping to find what you are looking for, only to see the machine empty every single time.

Speaking of drinks, the selection leaves a lot to be desired. The energy drink options are weak; only one or two Rockstar flavors (dare I say mediocre flavors) and a lineup of Celsius cans that all start to taste the same after a while. If you are not into Celsius, you are stuck. The soda selection is not much better: four different types of Mountain Dew but somehow no root beer. Who is making these decisions? If you are like me, the best option SUNY Oswego has to offer with soda is ginger ale, which is crazy because there have to be about 100 other options in front of ginger ale in a perfect world.

Then there is the biggest issue of all…the prices. Everything in the vending machines costs at least a dollar more than it would at a gas station or convenience store. Think about that: it is actually cheaper to buy the same drink at a gas station, which already marks up its prices a ton. College students are already juggling tuition, rent and meal plans. We should not have to overpay for a bottle of water or a small snack just because it is convenient.

At the end of the day, our campus vending machines could be a simple and helpful resource for students on the go. Right now, however, they are more of a letdown than a convenience. With better placement, more consistent restocking, improved variety and fairer prices, the vending system could actually serve the students it is meant for instead of frustrating them week after week.