On  Nov. 13, 2023, The Habit Burger Grill, Toss-N-Chop and Taco Bell officially opened in the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union after over a year of constant delays. 

However, although the food court is open within the building, it isn’t everything students hoped for. 

Within the first two weeks, two students found hairs in their food from The Habit. One of them was on opening day.

“So basically we’re at the Habit at the new RSU and I think I had like three bites and I saw a white hair, and I pulled it out and it’s a white, wiggly hair in my burger… I was kind of iffy when I was ordering too because I didn’t see anyone with hairnets, or like the guys with beards, they usually [have] at other restaurants that I’ve seen, they have like beard nets,” said Elvira Gomez a fourth year student at Fresno State. 

Gomez is right, none of the workers are wearing hairnets in any of the three restaurants. My colleague at The Collegian also found a hair in his food from the Habit. 

According to The Habit and Toss-N-Chop student workers, they only had four days of training before opening to the public.

These aren’t the only problems with the RSU. The issues go back to 2018 when the project was originally initiated.

In March 2018, 67% of voters approved a fee referendum to support the construction of the new student union (RSU). 

The project was initiated by a group of students wanting a space that fostered a sense of community and belonging. 

Juan Guzman, a graduate student assistant on the University Student Union Board at the time, was a main contributor to the project. When the voters approved the building, he and his colleagues celebrated the fact that they contributed toward a better campus for future students. 

“We have left our mark, and we built a better campus for future Bulldogs,” Guzman said. 

However, once construction began, things started to take a turn. 

Construction for the new building commenced in Fall 2019 with a projected completion date scheduled for Fall 2021. 

As time went on, delays arose due to missing typical construction related items to State Fire Marshal approvals. 

The building did not open until Fall 2022, with a ribbon cutting ceremony in October. 

When the building was essentially “sold” to students, it was set to feature amenities such as 24/7 access and three new retail dining options.

Over a year has passed since the opening of the building, and it has yet to offer 24/7 access and the dining options just opened on Nov. 13 after numerous delays. 

Student fees have increased since Spring 2023, to pay for a building that they didn’t get to name, didn’t get to vote on and don’t have access to 24/7. 

The building is named after Lynda and Stewart Resnick, who pledged to contribute $10 million to the project, which is only 16.6%. Another $2 million was also donated by other community members, but the other $48 million is being paid by us, the students.

Our student union fees have been going up 3% annually starting at $149 since Spring 2023. 

In March 2022, Debbie Adishian-Astone, chief financial officer and executive vice president for administration, confirmed that the student union fee will eventually be over $500. 

Not only are we paying for it, but we don’t even get to use it like we were promised. Students all over campus were so excited to be able to have 24/7 access to the space. 

“I think that’s a surprise that there’s nothing here that’s 24/7, especially during finals week or just in general… A place to come to 24/7 would be beneficial to everybody,” said Kaden Sherrel, a Fresno State student. 

As for the dining options, they were supposed to open in 2022, when the building itself opened, but were delayed to Fall 2023 due to “construction timelines and training of staff,” according to Adishian-Astone in March 2023. 

From that point on, we received delay after delay, each time the excuse even more meager. 

University officials blamed construction, again and again, but, come on, how long does it take to install kitchens for a restaurant? It’s not like they were constructing entire buildings. 

Students throughout the campus were frustrated with how long it was taking. 

“I’ve been looking forward to the new lunch spots opening up, specifically The Habit Burger Grill,” said Mateo Molina, a Fresno State student. “I’m just wondering why they are taking so long to open, and the promises they have yet to fulfill.” 

Nathan Rawers also expressed his frustration but said it was typical of the university to not comply with what they promised.

“S—-’s annoying. I really just want a bomb ass Habit burger already. But I’m used to this school saying that things are going to be open and they’re not,” Rawers said.

Lisa Bell, public information officer for University Communications, attributed the delays to construction and unpredictable events.

In September 2023, we were informed of the real reason the dining concepts were delayed. 

The Habit Burger Grill, Taco Bell and Toss-N-Chop did not open as originally scheduled because the proper ventilation systems were not included in the original construction of the building for the three restaurants.

When asked if not including venting and ducting for the three restaurants in the base building design was a mistake, Adishian-Astone said:

“We had to wait to start this separate design and construction work after the building was completed and signed off on. This is tenant-improvement work, which is being funded by Association [University] Dining Services.”

At The Collegian, we tried so many ways of making sense of the situation because it is absolutely unreasonable that the university failed to notify students of this. 

The university claims to be transparent and honest, but how is this possible if they keep things from us? If we at The Collegian had not reported on this matter, to this day students would have no idea what really happened, reiterating the importance of student journalism and news as a whole. 

President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, however, says otherwise. He came to speak to The Collegian in March of 2023, where instead of building students up, he tore them down. 

“Instead of encouraging their education and willingness to learn, I had to watch them justify the careers they are aiming for and the work they are currently doing,” Manuel Hernandez, former editor-in-chief of The Collegian wrote in an opinion story. 

Since the university never clearly identified whether it was a mistake or not, The Collegian chose to conduct a records request in compliance with California Public Records Act, California Government Code § 6250.

The request was made on Oct. 25 and the timeline for a request of this form is 10 business days. As of the start of the Spring 2024 semester, we have yet to receive the documents  we asked for. In a formal records request, the delay is against the law.

In October 2023, University Dining Services announced that there would be food trucks on campus for the month because the RSU food options wouldn’t open until Nov. 1.  

When the first week of November came around, the dining concepts still didn’t open. They didn’t open until Nov. 13. 

The building was planned by the students for the students, yet we haven’t been included in updates or decisionmaking since the building was voted on.

As of now, the Resnick Student Union is not what was promised to us. While the dining options are now open, it took way too long for them to be available and the lack of updates we received is upsetting. 

Even though the food options are open now, the sanitary issues, specifically at The Habit, guarantee that I will never eat there. It’s incredibly frustrating that the university built up these restaurants to be so great, but yet they’re leaving hairs in peoples’ food. 

Also, the fact that the building is named after two individuals who only contributed 16.6% and that it isn’t open 24/7 as promised, makes no sense because now we aren’t getting what we’re currently paying for.