Fresno State is in a hot, arid region. This desert is draining the students and faculty of vital energy, and the coldest of water sometimes isn’t enough.
The question is, what can Fresno State do for its students to help them recover from the heat?
Two words: ice cream.
It’s quite disturbing that a college centered in an area that is regularly more than 100 degrees does not have many ice cream options on campus.
True — Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market offers delicious Fresno State ice cream, but being on the far side of the Save Mart Center, it isn’t practical for those who are looking to cool down in between classes.
The answer seems clear to any sane person. We need an ice cream shop on campus.
Chick-fil-A is gone, and with that there is an opening in the University Student Union for a new food place. Why not a Baskin Robbins-type place? If nothing else, the Fresno State ice cream should be sold to students right here on campus.
It doesn’t have to be in the USU, it could be in a truck like Bulldog Bites, or they could build a small walk-up shack like you would traditionally find for a snow cone or mini coffee shop.
Business would be through the roof, especially in these hot summer months. We know there isn’t much weather to be had in the Central Valley, and it can feel like it’s summer 6-9 months a year. So even if we pretend students wouldn’t buy ice cream in the winter, which they would, the other months are so hot that the ice cream shop would sell out all the time.
It seems like an easy business idea to make a lot of money. “Make ice cream available to students in hot areas.” Done. Where can we deposit the million dollars?
Fresno State President Joseph Castro said he wants to put in a Mexican restaurant to replace Chick-fil-A, and that’s a great idea. But Dr. Castro, the students need ice cream. I bet every decision that’s made about what the campus needs occurs in an air-conditioned office.
Please, step outside for a while and then discuss what the students really need. We will thank you for it.
