On Monday, March 31, Drexel University’s Undergraduate Student Government Association hosted an open forum with Drexel administrators for concerned students following the recent announcements of beloved campus food trucks moving or closing their businesses for good.
USGA welcomed senior vice presidents Subir Sahu and Brian Keech, Chief of Drexel Police Mel Singleton and associate vice presidents Karen Lewis and Katie Zamulinsky. They opened with introductions and their agenda for the forum. After explaining the situation and providing some background, they opened up the forum for Q&A.
Several of the Drexel panelists highlighted that they empathize with students’ concerns and understand that Drexel’s food trucks are a staple of the university and integral to the fabric of the community. They then clarified that their top priority is health and safety.
Chief Singleton explained that university police have been writing citations to food trucks around campus for years and have always tried to enforce Philadelphia law. They described several past incidents involving mobile vendors in the area, referencing the food truck that exploded near Temple’s campus in 2014. Recently, new food trucks outside of Summit have sparked numerous complaints from students. Moreover, Singleton cited the safety of those crossing the street with little space between the trucks.
As a result, Public Safety decided they needed to crack down uniformly on code violations by all mobile food services on campus. Singleton added that they have handed out numerous flyers in the past with safety tips and education on laws and standards.
Keech and Chief Singleton both stressed that they are not forcing the trucks to shut down or kicking anybody off campus, but are only asking the trucks to be compliant with the laws put in place by the city of Philadelphia. These laws outline when they can operate, when and how often they need to be cleaned and when and where they can park. The main issue causing Pete’s Little Lunch Box to close their doors is that they may not “leave any conveyance unattended at any time or store, park, or leave [it] overnight on any city sidewalk or street.”
When the forum was opened to questions from USGA students in the room and concerned students who attended remotely, USGA senator Nolan Wazni asked why Drexel’s response to these safety concerns was focused on food trucks, rather than the incessant traffic violations on 34th Street that occur irrespective of the food trucks.
Singleton and Keech responded to this by saying they were looking at the traffic problems in that area, but that solving them is much harder, citing the amount of work required just to install the new crosswalk on Chestnut Street.
Other students asked if there were records of the complaints and code violation citations and if this is a new issue or a change in enforcement of a longstanding issue. It was not made clear whether citation records were publicly available, but according to Keech, these issues do not often result in a citation, but rather a conversation with the owners that generally results in compliance.
Claire Toomey, the Drexel student who started a petition to help keep Pete’s Little Lunch Box open, asked if there was any way for Drexel to help Pete’s and other food trucks to maintain their spots. Keech said they have considered offering reserved spots for trucks that would still have to park somewhere else overnight or turning the parking lot behind the Academic Building into a private place just for mobile vendors. This new private location, much like “Food Truck Alley” on Ludlow Street, would not be subject to the same rules and regulations as a public road. However, these proposals have not been implemented due to the complicated nature of the situation, with many groups having to come together to make them happen.
The panelists continuously reiterated that they were not forcing any trucks to close or leave Drexel’s campus; they were only providing them notice that they need to be in compliance with Philadelphia law. They urged students not to pick their battle with Drexel, but rather with District 3 councilmember Jamie Gauthier and the Philadelphia City Council, who have control over these laws.